


Satisfied

by Kittenshift17



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fluff and Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 01:20:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13582989
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kittenshift17/pseuds/Kittenshift17
Summary: Caught out after dark in Ba Sing Se, Katara is hunted by a group of thugs before being rescued by the Blue Spirit. Locked out of the Upper Ring for the night, it looks like she has nowhere to go until the Blue Spirit takes her home with him, where he unwittingly reveals his identity, and just maybe, Katara's destiny to never be satisfied outside of Prince Zuko's fiery embrace.





	1. Chapter 1

  **Satisfied**

 

_By Kittenshift17_

* * *

She would never be satisfied, she realized. Kicking a rock along the pavement as the sun began to set, Katara of the Southern Water Tribe walked the narrow streets of Ba Sing Se. She'd slipped away from her friends when she couldn't take any more of Sokka's sarcastic comments, and any more of Toph's grating habits, and especially any more of Aang constant flitting between being moody, morose and sad one minute, and then so horribly naïve and childish the next.

It was days like today when she began to think that no matter the young Avatar's crush on her, she'd never be able to reciprocate his feelings in any way that would completely satisfy him. And the truth was it was because she knew she never be satisfied with someone like him. He might be one of her very best friends, but he'd never be what she wanted in a boyfriend. He was too easily distracted, too immature, too needy and always seeking to be the center of attention. And while all of those things were forgivable and tolerable, most of the time, she wanted to come first, sometimes.

Sometimes she just wanted to be upset about something without having him offer his 'wisdom' on the matter based on what the monks had taught him. And so, she'd left. It was beginning to get dark, and Katara knew that she should be getting back soon, knowing her friends and her brother would be getting worried. She'd left a note that morning before she left, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be worried about her. Especially when the city was hardly safe. She'd already learned that today as she walked the streets, interacting with the people and watching the amount of suffering that went on even here inside the high walls that protected the city and it's citizens from the Fire Nation.

The poor were hungry and desperate. They arrived in the city with only those things they managed to scrounge from their homes before the flames of war licked too high. Worse, when they finally made it to the safety of Ba Sing Se, they were segregated between the upper, middle, and lower ring and they suffered as a result. She shook her head as she walked, passing an Inn within the lower ring where boisterous voices called to one another and people shouted and debated what had really happened with the drill and the Fire Nation's attempts to invade.

She was tired. Tired of fighting. Tired of waiting around the city to meet with the Earth King. Tired of her friends and their constant company. Tired of the war. She just wanted to escape for a little while. Her heart ached with missing Gran Gran and Dad. It ached with missing her homeland, even if it was just a lump of ice floating at the bottom of the world, desolate and freezing cold and so inhospitable that none but her people even bothered trying to survive down there.

She missed sitting and chatting with Gran Gran about what it might be like one day when the Fleet came back from war and Dad arranged her marriage to a handsome young warrior who would take her in his strong arms and hold her tight through the long nights of winter darkness. Katara's lips twisted, recalling those times when she'd just been a young girl and she'd daydreamed about the boy who might win her heart and one day share her bed.

She snorted to herself quietly as she passed through the gates to the middle ring, bitterly thinking that she'd certainly never imagined a bald monk with blue tattoos covering his body when she'd done her daydreaming. Katara almost stumbled when an image of another boy she knew flashed inside her mind; one with an angry red scar and eyes that glowed like living amber, golden as the sun and always glittering with hatred.

"Where did  _that_  come from?" she asked, stumbling forward a step as the memory of strong hands encircling her wrists and a low rasping voice promising to save her from pirates danced across her mind.

Katara shook her head, trying to dislodge the memory, horrified that thoughts of Zuko had filled her mind. She frowned, realizing that it had been a long time since she'd seen the angry Fire Nation prince. Maybe he'd finally given up on hunting them. Maybe it was just because, without Appa to draw attention to them, he wasn't so good at tracking them all the way across the world and back again. In any case, she shouldn't be thinking about the murderous firebender who'd tied her to a tree and tried to kill her more than once in his pursuit of Aang.

Not that she managed to improve her own mood when her thoughts drifted first to Jet and then to Haru – the only other boys she'd had any kind of interaction with that might be considered intimate. She shook her head, recalling the way Jet's lips had felt against hers, and subconsciously she pressed her fingers to her lips again, the tingle reminding her that before he'd revealed himself to be a psychotic murderer, he'd been charming and handsome and entirely too attractive for her peace of mind.

She didn't notice that she'd wandered into a bad situation until it was too late, bumping right into someone. Strong hands gripped her hips and Katara gasped, attempting to reel back as the smell of sweat and dirt filled her nose. Her head snapped up to focus on a large Earth Kingdom man who was leering at her.

"Well, what do we have here?" he drawled in a low voice, his two buddies sniggering either side of her.

"Let me go," she insisted immediately, trying to pull away from the large man and finding that he had an unforgiving grip on her.

"What's pretty little thing like you doing out after dark, eh?" the man asked. "Reckon you must be looking for a bit of fun. What do you think, boys? Think we could show her a good time?"

Katara's blood ran cold and her hands shot to the cap on her waterskin, uncorking it as she flung a blast of water at the man. At such short range, it did little more than hit him and drench his clothing, but it was enough that he reeled back in surprise. Spinning on her heels, Katara ran for it, shouts of protest following her. Feet pounded in her wake and Katara's heart began to race inside her chest. She turned down a side street, hoping she might be able to throw them off.

They gave chase as she ran hard and Katara flung ice over her shoulder, clipping one of the men with it even as she ran harder. She didn't have to ask to know just what kind of a good time those men wanted to show her, and she didn't dare stop and face them, not certain she'd be able to defeat them when she was tired, and alone, and more than a little bit terrified. She ran harder, knocking over a barrel of water and freezing it as she raced by, listening to a shout followed by a crash that she desperately hoped meant she'd lost them. Rounding another corner, already lost in the maze of streets, Katara ran for it.

Strong arms closed around her when she raced around another corner, one hand clapping over her mouth and a strong, male body pressing intimately against hers. An iron-strong arm belted her middle and when Katara tried to uncork her waterskin again, she found her captor's hand clamped over the top, preventing her from reaching for it. She screamed against his hands, writhing in his grip.

"Shhhhh," came a faint, and slightly muffled sound from her captor as he hauled her down behind a low stone wall, forcing her to crouch with him.

Her own words of protest and fury were muffled by his hand, and Katara realized when his grip tightened at the sound of pounding feet that her assailant could hear her pursuers and apparently didn't want them to be found. She froze, her eyes wide, her heart racing inside her chest as she tipped her head, trying to get a look over her shoulder at the face of whoever had grabbed her.

Katara's blood went cold when her vision was filled with a man clad entirely in black but for the Dao blades strapped to his back and the Blue Spirit face mask hiding his identity.

The Blue Spirit!

The one who'd saved Aang from Commander Zhao. He'd saved her, too. Katara felt her body relax minutely as she realized who clutched her so tightly, listening as her assailants ran past with heavy footsteps. Silence reined when they were gone, the Blue Spriit still crouched with her encircled in his protective embrace. He'd saved her.

"What are you doing here?" she found herself asking in a whisper when she pried his hand from her mouth, relaxing completely in his hold and lowering herself to sit between his knees, uncaring right in that moment that she was lost, and scared, and in the presence of a Spirit.

A spirit she was thinking happened to be rather like her Painted Lady. This was no real spirit. He was a man in a mask, but she could feel the steady thump of his heart inside his chest where she leaned against him. He looked over at her sharply, his masked face turning toward her. Though there was no expression she could make out upon the frozen mask, she could tell she'd surprised him with her surrender and her curiosity.

He didn't answer her, of course. She hadn't really expected him to. Aang had said that the Blue Spirit had been silent when he'd freed him from Zhao, too. Apparently, he liked his identity to remain private. Katara wondered if maybe he had a voice that might be recognizable; maybe that's why he stayed silent.

"Thank you," she said quietly in the silence, watching the way he stared at her for a long moment as she made herself comfortable on the ground between his knees. "Thank you for rescuing me. I don't think they had very pleasant intentions."

He shook his head slowly from side to side, seeming baffled by her willingness to sit with him there in the dirt in an empty back-street of the middle ring. She knew she needed to be getting back – that Sokka and the others would be worried now that dark had fallen. She knew she needed to, but Katara didn't dare. Not in the dark when she was lost and had no idea how to get back to the Upper ring and certainly no intention of asking a stranger for directions. Not after being chased by scary men. She'd rather stay there with the Blue Spirit, even if he was silent. She at least knew she could trust him not to hurt her – he'd rescued her, after all, and he'd saved Aang in the past. She trusted him, even if she didn't know his name.

"I can't believe they chased me," she muttered, frowning and looking down at her lap when she felt his hand slowly release the cap of her water-skin, hesitantly testing to see if she would turn on him.

She didn't. Katara relaxed further, leaning against him a little when she noticed a sudden chill in the air. His body was warm beneath the all-black attire he wore that hugged his lithe, muscular frame and Katara found herself leaning into that warmth.

"Do you know the way to the upper ring?" she asked quietly, her eyes tracing over the mask he wore once more when he slowly seemed to relaxed, dropping out of his crouch to sit against the wall.

He shook his head slowly again, still seeming baffled.

"Oh," she said in a small voice. "Neither do I… At least, not in the dark. I… um… I don't really want to try and find my way home in the dark with those guys on the loose."

The Blue Spirit regarded her without a word, leaning there against the wall with her sat intimately between his bent-up knees. Katara turned to face him as best she could without actually pulling away, not wanting to leave the warmth of his embrace.

"I suppose it would be… too much to ask if I suggested that we… um… stay here until morning? Unless you have some better place to go?" she asked, blushing as she looked down. "Only… I'm scared, and I don't want to be alone in the dark all night."

She would swear she heard a faint huff of surprise at the admission and Katara traced her eyes over his mask, wishing she could see his real face; wishing she knew just who was underneath.

She waited, wondering what he might do with her request; wondering if he might permit her to see just who was underneath that mask. She forced her muscles to relax further, leaning into him a little more when he didn't move or speak. She leaned into him, carefully pressing herself to his chest. She laid her cheek on his shoulder, listening to his heart as it slowly began to speed up when she hesitantly curled an arm around his narrow waist. She could feel the tightly corded muscle hidden beneath the black fabric, and she found herself leaning in until she was hugging him before drawing his scent deep into her lungs.

He smelled like smoke and the sea. Katara frowned, wondering how that could be when they were so far from the ocean. He tensed when she drew in another deep lungful of his scent, knowing that sniffing him was probably creepy, but uncaring what he might think of her actions – after all, it wasn't like he was going to say anything in protest.

"You smell nice," she murmured softly, closing her eyes and soaking up the warmth he was emitting, listening to his heart pounding out an uneven, rapid beat. She wondered if she was making him nervous.

She wondered if the strange tingle coursing through her body was coursing through his, too. She wanted to get even closer, she realized, and she lifted her head to look up at him once more when he hesitantly wrapped both arms around her small frame, holding her to him and hugging her back.

"Does this mean you'll stay?" she asked.

She felt him hesitate before he tapped his hands to her lower back and wriggled against her, intent on getting to his feet. Katara frowned, opening her mouth to protest as he rose, his hands sliding under her elbows and making her rise with him. Before she could ask if he was planning to leave her there all by herself, he slipped his hand into hers, interlocking their fingers. A jolt of electricity ran all the way up her arm and into her chest when he did so, and from the way she heard him gasp behind his mask, she knew he must've felt it too.

Katara raised her eyebrows, looking into the mask and waiting to see what he planned. Before she could ask, he stepped around her and pointed to the roof before climbing up on the low wall they'd been leaning against.

"You want to get on the roof?" she asked, frowning when he pulled on her hand, trying to get her to climb up on the wall with him, apparently intent on just that.

He nodded his head, letting go of her hand and jumping to the roof, pulling himself up with apparent ease. He turned back to look at her when he was crouched on the roof before offering her his hand in silent invitation.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked, her curiosity perhaps getting the best of her good sense when she followed him onto the roof.

He didn't answer, and she hadn't expected him to. Instead, he began dashing across the rooves of the houses with ease, his balance clearly spectacular. He didn't let go of her hand as he went, tugging her along with him as he leapt between houses and dashed over the rooftops of the city. She held her breath when he pulled her to a stop on a roof of a house with a very small balcony. A light was on inside the house – a single candle flickering in the window - and he carefully slipped down from the roof to the balcony before turning to look up at her.

Katara raised her eyebrows when he held both hands up toward her, apparently intent on catching her. Biting her lip, Katara glanced around, spying the walls of the Upper Ring in the distance. The gates were closed, she noticed, preventing anyone from passing through unless they were an Earthbender who could scale the wall, burrow under it, or bring it down. She had no choice, she realized. She could follow the Blue Spirit into what must be his home, or she could take her chances on the street for the night.

Sliding off the roof and into his arms, Katara was surprised when he caught her with ease, lowering her slowly down the length of his body to stand before him. When she raised her eyebrows at him, he pressed a finger to the lips of his mask, before cocking his head to one side, listening. Katara copied him, listening hard until she heard the faint sound of snoring coming from within the small apartment.

She felt a smile pull against her lips, realizing that, whoever he was, he must live with someone and he didn't want to be caught sneaking her inside. Pressing her lips together, she nodded and pressed a finger to her lips, indicating that she could be silent if she needed to. He nodded too, before easing through the small space that she supposed counted as a door onto the balcony. He led her in, his hand wrapped around hers once more, and Katara watched him pause at the candle that flickered on the kitchen benchtop. He reached for his mask, one-handed, and lifted it just far enough to blow the candle out in order to keep from wasting it.

Plunged into darkness, Katara's heart stuttered unevenly when he pulled her gently by the hand across the room, sure of his footing even in the dark. She let him lead her, surprised when he pulled her through another doorway before sliding it closed behind them. He guided her to the corner of the room where her hands encountered a soft mattress. It was thin – harder than the one she'd been sleeping on in her bed in the upper ring – but it would certainly do.

"Are you going to tell me your name?" she asked when she heard him shifting around in the dark.

She wondered if he would answer her at all, surprised when he spoke from almost directly in front of her – his hands picking up her right foot and easing her boot off as he did so.

"If I tell you my name, you'll leave," he whispered and Katara was surprised he'd spoken.

"What makes you think so?" she frowned, letting him take her boots from her feet without a fight. "The gates to the upper ring are closed for the night. If I don't stay here, I'll have to take my chances on the street."

"You'd feel safer on the street than you would in here with me if you knew my name, Katara," he said, and Katara's breath hitched, adrenaline shooting through her with a touch of fear that he knew her name.

"You know my name, then?" she asked. "That's hardly fair."

"You know mine," the Blue Spirit countered. "You just haven't figured out that I belong to it."

Katara pressed her lips together, trying to think of who it might be as she heard him rise to his feet once more, apparently disrobing out of his costume.

"If you know my name, and you know I know yours and just haven't figured it out yet, you might as well tell me," she said. "I'll know in the morning, anyway, unless you plan to sleep in your mask."

"In the morning you won't be at risk of being raped when you flee back onto the streets before running back to your friends," he replied evenly, his voice rising from a whisper to the faintest murmur and Katara tried to pinpoint his identity from his voice.

"Just tell me?" she asked. "Please? You saved my life, and you saved Aang from Zhao. So, you must be at least decent."

"And if I'm not?"

"You can't refute the proof," she shrugged, feeling the mattress sag beside her.

"Even if I have plenty more proof of what a bad person I am?" he asked and Katara would swear she knew that voice from somewhere.

"Sometimes the good outweighs the bad," she shrugged. "And you're a decent enough guy to protect a girl from being raped, and then to invite her back to your home where you might very well be caught with a girl in your room just to keep me safe."

He didn't answer, and Katara frowned.

"Are you sleeping in those clothes?" he asked, tugging on the sleeve of her tunic.

She glanced down at herself, though she couldn't see much in the dark.

"I don't have anything else," she pointed out, though when she lifted the fabric of her dress to her nose, she noted that it smelled faintly of sweat.

"You have your sarashi on under it," he pointed out.

"And how would you know that?" she asked, frowning.

"I've seen it," he answered. "The same way I know you're name."

Katara's frown deepened. "Well… what are you sleeping in?" she asked, frowning at him in the dark though she could see his face in the blackness.

"My pants," he answered. "Get off the blanket, and take that dress off. You stink."

"Oh, well that's nice," she scoffed, standing once more, unable to keep from laughing just a little bit at the blunt insult.

"Shut up and do it," he replied.

"And you're bossy. Who do I know who is bossy, rude, and has done terrible things to me that would scare me off into the night, and who's seen me in my sarashi? I know you're not Sokka."

The snort of amusement that drew from her host almost made her laugh, too. Katara shook her head, pulling her dress off over her head and wriggling out of her leggings. When she ducked her head to sniff at her bindings, she realized they smelled worse than the dress and she frowned.

"Do you have a shirt I could wear?" she asked quietly.

"Why?" he asked, clearly taken off guard and Katara's ears twitched.

She  _definitely_  knew that voice from somewhere.

"My sarashi smell worse than my dress."

"Gross," the Blue Spirit said, and she felt him brush by her to collect something from across the room.

"Wear this," he told her when he returned, pressing a shirt into her hands.

"Thanks," she said, accepting the garment and unwinding her sarashi before pulling the shirt on over her head. It smelled like him – smoke and the sea. "So… If you've done bad things to me in the past, and you think I'd run if you told me you're name, then why did you rescue me, and why are you letting me stay here with you?"

"I have my reasons," he said. "Come to bed and stop talking, before you wake up my un… house-mate."

Katara had the distinct impression he'd been about to say 'uncle' and when his warm hand closed over her wrist, she was certain she'd felt that hand gripping her wrist before. Katara felt a jolt of fear and something else – something dangerous – race down her spine.

She let him pull her down on the narrow bed beside him, curling under the covers next to him and feeling the way he shuffled around, trying to fit his wide shoulders on the small bed when she was next to him. She got the feeling it would be easier for both of them if she was to cushion her cheek on his chest like she'd done on the street, and her heart raced wildly inside her chest.

She had a pretty good idea of just who the Blue Spirit really was, but she didn't dare say his name out loud. If she acknowledged who he was, she'd never be able to reconcile with herself to stay, rather than making a run for it.

Biting her lip, Katara reached a careful hand across the bed, rolling onto her side until she was facing him. Her hand shook when she smoothed it across his stomach, feeling the taut muscles jump under the light touch.

"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously, catching her wrist once more.

"The bed is too narrow for two," she said quietly. "And you're just going to keep wriggling unless you have more space by having me pressed against you, instead of trying to keep from touching me."

"You want me to touch you?" he asked, and Katara's cheeks flamed at the wickedly suggestive tone in his sneer.

She tried not to think about that fact that just that very evening, before she'd been chased, she'd been imagining less than appropriate things about him.

"Why do boys always say things to make girls uncomfortable like that?" she asked, huffing.

"You're the one smoothing your hands over my naked torso," he pointed out.

"Oh, am I making  _you_  uncomfortable?" she asked sarcastically.

"Not in the way you think," she heard him mutter and Katara's cheeks warmed even more.

The tension in the room thickened tenfold and she held her breath as she shuffled further across the bed, giving him more space by laying on her side and pulling him across the bed before resting her cheek in the hollow of his shoulder. She could hear his heart still hammering out an erratic beat and she knew she wasn't the only one who was suddenly thinking less than appropriate things.

This was wrong. She couldn't see his face, and he wouldn't admit to his name, but she  _knew_  who he was and she knew that he friends would never forgive her if they could see her. She wondered if she'd ever be able to forgive herself.

_You won't if you don't make the most of this opportunity_ , the voice inside her subconscious whispered and Katara gulped softly, feeling a little tingle run through her.

No, she couldn't think that way. It would be bad enough owning up to having worn his shirt and slept snuggled in his arms. She couldn't entertain notions of doing more than that.

"Well," she said finally after several strained minutes of tightly controlled breathing and palpable silence. "This is awkward."

"Just close your eyes and go to sleep, Katara," the Blue Spirit muttered, and she felt him curl his arm around her back before he shifted her body a little closer to his and shuffled his shoulders further across the bed.

"I can't," she said. "I…."

"If you're going to talk all night, I'm going to put you back out on the street," he warned.

In spite of herself, Katara laughed at the grumpy boy.

"You're always so mean," she muttered, and she felt him tense.

"You know who I am, then?" he asked.

Katara nodded, propping her chin on his chest and squinting at him, trying to make out his face in the dark.

"And you're still here?" he said.

Katara shrugged. "The alternative is worse," she said. "It's cold outside, and scary. In here it's just warm and scary."

"You're afraid of me?" he asked.

"You  _have_  chased me and my friends across the world," she pointed out.

He sighed out a slow breath, apparently needed no further proof that she  _did_  know who he was. She waited to see if he would say anything, wondering if he might apologize, or at the very least acknowledge that he'd been a jerk.

"Should've left you outside," she heard him mutter after more long minutes of silence. "I'll never get any sleep with you pressed up against me and so tense."

"Maybe you should do something to make me feel more at ease and less tense in your presence."

She felt him freeze again and Katara winced when she realized what she'd said.

"I… that's not what I… oh, forget it!" she huffed.

"Now you want to use me for my warm bed  _and_  my ability to relieve your tension, Katara?" he asked in a low voice that made her quiver with nerves. A horrible thrum of heat washed through her and Katara began pulling away from him, only to find his grip was unrelenting.

"I meant that maybe you could apologize for being such a jerk and chasing us across the world," she huffed.

"Did you?" he asked and Katara's eyes widened when he turned toward her a little, his hot hand catching the back of her knee and shifting her leg until it was hooked over his hip intimately.

"I…" Katara said, her heart racing inside her chest and her breath rasping. "Yes."

"You're panting," he pointed out. "Do I make you nervous, Katara?"

She gulped, feeling a little light headed at the intimate, husky tone that laced his already raspy voice.

"Yes," she admitted without thinking, gasping and clapping a hand to her mouth when she realized what she'd said.

His low laugh was almost scornful, and Katara wanted to die.

"I mean… not… um… not like that," she stammered.

"No?" he asked quietly, his hand very slowly beginning to travel up the back of her thigh. "Funny, I could've sworn I heard you say that I smelled good when you where snuggling into my chest outside."

"That was… different," Katara stammered. "You saved me from those thugs and I didn't know who you were, yet."

"I saved you from pirates, too," he murmured, his breath fanning over her face.

"You tied me to a tree," she argued.

"You were supposed to give me what I wanted."

"Why?" she countered. "You didn't give me what I wanted, and you  _tied me to a tree!_  Did you think I would so quickly betray my friends?"

"They'd feel betrayed if they could see you now," he said, sounding smug even as his hand crept up the back of her thigh toward the curve of her bum. "Especially if they knew what you were thinking about doing with me."

"I'm not thinking about doing anything with you, except escaping," she argued, though she knew that they both knew it was a lie.

Something made obvious when he very deliberately slid his knee between her legs and pressed his hot thigh to her tingling core, drawing a ragged little mewl from her lips. He laughed wickedly, shifting his leg against her, generating friction.

"Don't," she whispered. "We… I can't…."

"You want to," he said, sure of himself.

"I…. Zuko, you can't… we're enemies," she said breathlessly, her eyes closed against the sensation of so much heat and friction focused solely on her core.

"Not tonight," he argued softly. "Tonight, we're allies."

"And tomorrow?" she whispered, unable to keep from burrowing her face into his neck, her lips tingling as they touched his skin for the first time.

"Tomorrow is still a long way off," he said quietly. "There are a lot of things I could do to you before then."

"You've been trying to kidnap my friend," she reminded him. "I don't trust you."

"Your friend isn't here," Zuko pointed out huskily. "It's just you and me."

"You're pushing this awfully hard for someone who likes to refer to me as a 'little peasant',  _Prince_  Zuko," Katara murmured, her hands moving of their own accord to trace over his muscled torso, exploring the heat of his flesh and tracing each line of muscle as it jumped under her touch.

"You're doing a horrible job of resisting," he retorted, and Katara could feel the puff of his breath on her face, suggesting that his face was just inches from hers.

Her lips tingled with the memory of being kissed in the past and she hated herself for wanting to know how much they might burn if Zuko kissed her. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about kissing him or tracing her hands over his naked flesh. She knew that if anyone ever found out that she'd even stood in his presence without fighting him, they'd call her crazy. Sokka would tell her she was nut-brained and must be suffering Midnight Sun madness. Aang would look confused and hurt, and shake his head if he could see what she was doing right.

Katara's lips twisted when it occurred to her that Toph would probably call her an idiot before enthusiastically cheering her on. The Earthbender was prone to encouraging whatever made people happy, and Katara got the feeling that when she was finished calling her five kinds of stupid, Toph would offer her a high-five. The thought almost made her snort and Katara threw caution to the wind.

No one would ever know, except her and Zuko. No one knew where she was. No one knew he was in the city. No one had to know. Leaning toward him, Katara nuzzled her nose against his, listening as he drew in a little breath of surprise, obviously thinking she'd been planning to pull away.

She didn't.

Her heart was racing, and her stomach was backflipping as she slowly leaned closer until her lips brushed over his softly. Electricity shot through her and Katara's eyes widened in surprise as her senses went haywire when he leaned closer, kissing her again, kissing her harder.

She was kissing Prince Zuko. She was curled in his bed, running her hands over his hot skin, kissing him like she'd never kissed anyone else. He pulled back slightly, breathing heavily and Katara wished she could see his face, even knowing that doing so would somehow make this feel more real, more immediate, more forbidden.

"This is a bad idea," she heard him say, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke and Katara nodded.

"Yeah," she agreed. "It is."

He responded by kissing her again, his hand on the back of her thigh sliding higher, gripping her bum and pulling her closer. His arm around her back tightened, pulling her to him until she was pressed flush against his bare chest. His lips were firm and warm on hers and Katara gasped when he traced his tongue along her lower lip, clearly wondering if she would let him deepen the kiss. She did, parting her lips, Katara darted her tongue out, trembling when his tongue met hers hesitantly.

Unlike the last time she'd kissed a boy, Zuko didn't push forward, claiming what he wanted whether she was ready or not. He went slow, kissing her maddeningly, his tongue smoothing against hers, making her heart race even faster. Her body trembled with the intense feelings coursing through her, her hands shaking as she threaded her fingers through his short hair and Katara found herself surprised that he'd grow it out from the single, long ponytail of hair at the back of his head while the rest was clean shaven. Instead there was soft hair covering his head and she found that it made an excellent handle to anchor his mouth to hers as she kissed him harder.

Unbidden, a soft mewl of pleasure tore from her throat as he ground his thigh against the junction of her thighs and Katara broke their kiss, trailing her lips over his cheek and along his jaw. His breath hitched the higher she climbed, and she realized with a jolt that she was kissing his burned cheek. Without thinking, she traced her lips over the soft skin of his scar and she felt him tremble at the caress.

"Fuck," he whispered when Katara kissed her way across the burned flesh of his cheek and to his ear, nibbling his earlobe and feelings his hands tighten on her.

She huffed when he rolled her to her back, pulling her across the bed until she was pinned under him and Katara felt a smug grin pulling at the corners of her mouth when she felt the hard, hot appendage in his pants nudging against her as he settled himself in the cradle of her hips. She traced her hands over the wide expanse of his back, feeling the corded muscle and the coiled power in his body as he held himself up off her just enough to keep from crushing her.

He turned his head, pulling his ear from between her teeth and kissing her hard on the mouth once more. Katara moaned softly when he ground his hips against hers as he did so, his tongue sliding to meet hers and making her quake with need. She was so hot and so shivery that she wondered if it was possible to grow feverish just from kissing. She'd never been so hot or so shaky with need and she realized with a jolt that she wanted to find out what it would be like to feel him  _inside_  her with all that heat and power that made her as nervous as it made her hot.

He kissed her hungrily, his tongue licking repeatedly at hers, his lips hard on hers, his hips grinding against hers and making her that much hotter.

"Have you done this before," he asked huskily, his voice low and rough in a way that made her tremble.

Katara bit her lip before shaking her head slowly. "No," she whispered honestly. "Have you?"

He ground against her before her answered. "Once," he admitted. "Do you… want to?"

Katara hated that she was in a position where she would have to confess that, yes, she most assuredly did want to have sex with him. She didn't doubt that, in the morning, she would be embarrassed by what they'd already done, let alone what they might go on to do and she just  _knew_  on some level that if she slept with him tonight – if she gave him her virtue – she would go on to regret it the next time they faced off as adversaries.

"Yes," she whispered breathlessly. "Do you?"

He answered by kissing her all over again, pulling at the hem of her shirt until he was forced to break the kiss to peel her out of it. He kissed his way down her neck and over her bare chest and Katara closed her eyes, her body on fire with the sweet sensations coursing through her.

"Spirits," she moaned when he traced his tongue over her skin, licking the taut pebble of her nipple before closing his mouth over her breast.

She arched into the touch, hot and needy and craving so much more. She wanted to taste the fire that raced through his veins and she wanted to feel it inside of her, coursing through her, too. He seemed intent of letting her because his hands slid under her bindings, peeling her out of her underwear until she laid completely bare upon his bed. He couldn't see her in the dark, she knew, but Katara would swear he tried to, just the same.

Reaching for him, Katara slid her hands over his stomach and down until she found the ties on his pants, unwinding them and pulling at them until the slid down his legs.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Katara admitted in a whisper, smoothing her hands carefully over the faint trail of hair that led south of his navel, unsure how to touch him even though she so desperately wanted to.

She froze when he caught her wrist, his grip gentler than it had ever been before. He curled his hand around hers carefully, guiding it to his body and Katara closed her hand over the hottest part of him with a little gasp of surprise. She heard his breath hitch too, but he didn't stop guiding her hand, showing her what to do. He stood by the edge of the bed and Katara felt him thread his free hand through her hair, weaving his fingers into the long brown tresses while his breath quickened.

Hesitantly, she smoothed her hand up and down the length of him, exploring the shape and girth of him, feeling the texture of his skin, curiously tracing the appendage she'd never seen or touched on anyone else. She made a sound of surprised protest when he pried her hand off him after just a few minutes.

"Hey," she protested.

He laughed huskily, lowering himself back to the bed and pushing her down until she was laid flat on her back once more. Katara bit her lip on more exclamations when he traced his fingers in a swirling pattern over her taut stomach and then lower, to the junction of her thighs. She trembled under his touch, frowning just a little and trying to snap her legs closed at the unfamiliar sensation of anyone else's fingers touching that most intimate part of her. Katara wondered if he was nervous when she felt him draw in a slow, deep breath as though reaching for control and she mewled softly when he sluiced his fingers through the hot flesh before pressing one long finger inside the part of her that throbbed so insistently.

"Oh, spirits," she whispered breathlessly, her whole world narrowing to just the hot feel of his finger moving inside her body.

Mindlessly, she reached for him again, closing her hand over him and matching the slow rhythm he used as he pumped his finger in and out of her, feeling the way he curled it inside of her. When he added another finger, she moaned, pulling him closer with a hand in his hair and pressing her lips to his once more. He groaned into her mouth and Katara felt prickles all over her body at the sound, so low and intimate, so obviously a sign of his pleasure that she almost couldn't bear it. He kissed her hard, his tongue invading her mouth, lapping at hers, kissing her like he couldn't get enough of her.

Maybe he couldn't.

He moved his fingers inside of her until she broke their fervent kiss to pant raggedly, trying to control herself, unable to stand it.

"Are you sure?" he asked her in a low voice, his mouth by her ear when he trailed a line of kisses across her cheek, his fingers still twisting in and out of her in a way that was making her crazy.

"Please," Katara heard herself whimper, subconsciously pulling on his body, trying to bring him closer.

"It might hurt," he warned, shifting over until he was on top of her.

Katara didn't care. She wanted him. She waned all that fire to fill her up and make the throb in between her legs stop. She kissed him again, letting go of him and reaching for his torso instead, pulling him down more firmly on top of her. He didn't say anything as he took the hint and took her eagerness for acquiescence. Katara moaned when he lined his body up at the junction of her thighs, feeling how much hotter he grew as she pulled him closer. She parted her legs wider, making room, wanting it so badly she was almost sobbing with need.

He pushed forward slowly and Katara winced, feeling her body stretching, the sting indicating that she was probably in for some more pain, but she didn't care. She was with Zuko, and all of her past experiences with the firebender up until that moment had involved some level of pain as a result of their fights. She was used to enduring a little sting where he was concerned.

She whimpered when he pressed harder, her body resisting the intrusion before giving way with a throbbing sting that tore a ragged whimper of pain from her lips. He pushed forward then, pushing his way inside of her quickly, trying to limit the length of time it had to hurt and Katara found herself biting his shoulder with the pain of it, but he didn't complain.

"Are you alright?" he asked when he finally stopped moving, his body and hers connected as closely as two bodies could be.

Katara whimpered, blinking tears from her eyes before forcing herself to relax her grip on him, certain that being so tense was the cause the for low ache inside of her.

"Hurts," she whispered honestly.

"I know," he nodded. "My uncle told me it always hurts girls, the first time."

Katara nodded. "Gran Gran said so, too," she admitted.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked in a low voice.

"You're not even moving," she pointed out.

"It will hurt more when I do," Zuko argued and Katara could hear just the faintest hint of annoyance in his voice. It occurred to her that even right then, sharing the most intimate act two people could engage in, they were still annoying each other and still itching for a fight.

"I've endured worse pain by your hand, Zuko," Katara reminded him quietly. "I can take it."

She heard his teeth grind together at the mention of the things they'd done to one another in the past before he very carefully withdrew from her until she could barely feel even the tip of him inside her, branding her with the heat of his body. When he pushed back in, it stung just a bit, but Katara bit her lip on another whimper. To keep from making another noise lest they wake up his uncle and be caught in this wicked act that would surely baffle their loved ones, Katara pulled his mouth back to her, kissing him soundly.

He kissed back eagerly, building to a slowly, steady rhythm that made her tremble and writhe under him, the heat of his body almost unbearable.

"Fuck," he ground out when the pain lessened and Katara begun rocking her hips into each of his thrusts.

"What?" she asked, frowning, freezing as she worried she'd done something wrong or hurt him.

"So tight," he muttered. "Agni, you're so warm, Katara."

Katara quivered at the almost tortured tone in his voice, smiling just a little and closing her eyes, reveling in the sensations. It was hard to turn her mind off, voices in her head cheering her on while others scolded her for what she was doing, but she tried her best.

When Zuko slipped his hand between their bodies, his fingers seeking out a little bundle of nerves at the top of her slit that she'd noticed made her more tingly whenever she touched it herself, Katara eyes clenched closed, her legs trying to snap shut around his body, interfering with his rhythm.

"Come on, Waterbender," Zuko growled in her ear as he frantically swirled his fingers over and over that bundle of nerves, speeding up his thrusts and driving into her harder. "I know I can break you."

His breathing was labored and Katara felt his entire body heat up until it was almost unbearable, his touch practically scalding her skin. She could feel a low pit of tension, low down in her abdomen that clenched tighter and tighter, getting hotter and hotter until she was sure she wouldn't be able to take it anymore and Katara's eyes widened in fright when he bucked into her even harder, his hot breath on her neck making her tremble just before he swiped his fingers over that bundle of nerves one more time and everything inside her snapped free like a length of sinew pulled to tight.

The low, panicked whimper that tore from her lips was swallowed when Zuko planted his lips on hers one more time, a muted roar escaping him a few seconds after her whole body jerked under his, everything clenching and spasming and twitching in a way that frightened and pleased Katara in equal measure.

"Shooting stars," she gasped when Zuko pulled his lips from hers, panting heavily as his hips jerked before he dropped down on top of her, pinning her to the mattress and engulfing her in the heat of his body in a way that was entirely too pleasant for her liking.

"Agni," she heard him whisper into her hair, groaning softly before he propped himself up with his elbow so that she'd still be able to breathe with him on top of her.

Katara panted as she laid there; her body seemed to be in a state of delighted shock and she found her arms weaving themselves around his back pulling him back down on top of her, pressing him closer until he was sprawled on top of her once more. He huffed a soft sound that might've been a laugh, but he didn't protest. When he dug his arms under her shoulders, pulling her closer, practically cuddling her, Katara closed her eyes, sighing softly, feeling the heat of him sink into her in a way she feared she might never forget.

Her mind began to race again as she laid there, circling back to her thought that afternoon that she might never be satisfied. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe she could be satisfied. It would just occur in the arms of a firebender who would probably never want to touch her again after tonight. For a long time, they both just laid there in the dark, their bodies pressed together as his body temperature began to lower until he was no longer unbearably hot, but just snug and warm and entirely too comfortable for her continued peace of mind.

After what felt like a lifetime, she caught her breath and very softly she heard Zuko ask, "Are you alright?"

Katara nodded, though she wasn't sure she would ever be alright ever again.

"Are you?" she asked.

"No," he admitted, apparently braver than she was.

He pulled away before she could ask him anything else about it, rolling off her and sitting up. She squinted when he used his firebending to light a candle on a small table across the room. Her heart stuttered at an uneven tempo when her eyes adjusted to the low light, tracing over the bare expanse of his back slowly. She loathed herself a little for appreciating the view even as she pulled the blankets up to hide her body from view. Not that she needed to bother. He didn't turn to look at her, resting his elbows on his knees and facing the wall.

"Did I hurt you?" Katara found herself asking, unsure how she might've but knowing it could be a possibility.

He snorted.

"No. I hurt you," he said.

"Not badly," she answered softly, frowning.

Zuko turned his head to meet her gaze and Katara held perfectly still, her eyes tracing over his face, taking in the angry red scar that marred his otherwise handsome face. Who was she kidding? Even with his scar, and even frowning with what looked like concern, as he currently was, Zuko was handsome.

"Why did you let me?" he asked, frowning at her.

Katara couldn't think of an answer that wouldn't feel like admitting defeat.

"Why did you want to?" she asked in reply, avoiding the question and Zuko's eyes flashed before he looked away.

"This is bad," he said quietly after several long minutes of silence.

"Tomorrow's another day," she answered quietly.

"We're enemies," he reminded her.

"Not tonight," she repeated his earlier words and Zuko snorted.

He didn't say anything else before he got to his feet, still naked, and opened the bedroom door before disappearing through it. She frowned, wondering if this was his way of pulling away; of re-drawing the adversarial lines between them; reaffirming their enmity. Before she could ponder it too hard, he returned with a small bowl of water and a cloth. Katara raised her eyebrows, but he ignored her, wetting the cloth and using it to rinse off before wringing the cloth in the water again.

He met her eyes when he handed it to her and Katara realized he meant for her to clean up the mess they'd made together before it could mess the sheets. Taking the cloth, her cheeks flushing crimson, Katara tried to wriggled around under the covers, trying her best to clean off. She huffed when she realized there was no way she'd get everything clean at this angle and Zuko flinched when she threw the blanket off and rose to her feet, completely naked.

She couldn't actually remember the last time anyone had seen her naked, and Katara made a face when Zuko's eyes widened as they traced over her supple, naked form. Katara frowned at him.

"This is embarrassing enough without you looking at me like that," she huffed at him and Zuko's lips pulled up at one corner.

"Why are you embarrassed?" he asked. "You're cleaning out something I put in you."

Katara's cheeks flamed and she narrowed her eyes on him before leaning over and blowing out the candle, plunging them into darkness. She heard his low, wicked chuckle even as she propped her foot on the edge of the bed, swiping the cloth over her flesh, wiping away the evidence of what they'd done.

Just as she dropped the cloth back into the bowl of water – finding it only because her element called to her – Zuko used his bending to reignite the candle and Katara blinked at him in the low light of the room.

"What?" she asked when he simply looked at her.

"Why?" he asked seriously. "You could've said no. Why would you let  _me_  be the person you have sex with for the very first time?"

Katara shrugged.

"Why did you want to share your second time with me?" she countered.

"Because I'm a teenage boy fueled by entirely too much testosterone and you're a pretty girl," he replied.

"So, I'm just a convenience?" she asked, not at all liking the little prickle of hurt that raced across her senses.

"Am I not?" he asked. "You obviously didn't desert your friends today  _intending_  to have sex with the guy who chased you all across the world. You agreed because it was convenient."

"I agreed because I wanted to," Katara retorted hotly before clapping her hands over her mouth.

Zuko smirked wickedly at her. "How long have you wanted to?"

"I… that's not what I meant," she said lamely, her cheeks glowing with her embarrassment. "I don't want to talk about this. Just… move over."

He laughed at her and Katara was surprised by how pleasant a sound his laugh was, even if he  _was_  laughing at her expense. He moved over in the bed, after pulling his pants back on and Katara bent down, reaching for the shirt he'd loaned her. Before she could pull it on over her head, he reached for her, his hands smoothing over her wide hips and pulling her down until she was kneeling on the bed between his legs. He had to tip his head back to hold her gaze, and Katara squeaked, putting her hands on his shoulders for balance.

She was uncomfortably aware that she was still naked, but she made no effort to try and hide from his gaze, suspecting that the prince would just laugh at her all the more if she did so.

"How long?" he asked, his expression intent, his eyes fixed upon hers and Katara wondered how she'd never noticed the intelligent gleam in those molten pool.

"That's not what I meant, Zuko," she replied. "I haven't been… you know, like… fantasizing about you or something. I just meant that you asked, and you were touching me and well…  _then_  I kind of started to entertain impure thoughts."

"Why did you leave the Avatar?" Zuko frowned at her, his hands light as he gripped her ribcage, intent on interrogating her rather than letting her into bed, it seemed.

"I didn't  _leave him_ ," she rolled her eyes. "I just went for a walk today because my friends were all getting on my nerves. Without Appa, and waiting to see the Earth King, we're all bored and frustrated, and the Dai Li have been watching us like messenger hawks, and so I just wanted to escape."

"What's 'Appa'?" Zuko frowned.

"Aang's sky-bison," she frowned in return. "He's missing. He was stolen by some sand-benders when we were in the desert and traded to a merchant here in Ba Sing Se. We've been trying to find him."

"What's the Dai Li?" Zuko asked next.

Katara's frowned deepened. "The cultural authority in the city. They're bad news. They're the ones who keep the three rings segregated. In the Upper Ring, people don't even  _know_  about the war. They keep the refugees in the lower ring and the middle ring to prevent people from knowing about the war. It's a conspiracy. They brainwashed our guide, and they've been getting in the way every other day. When Azula and those other girls attacked the Outer Wall with their giant drill, they covered it up."

"The city was attacked?" Zuko frowned. "Azula was here?"

Katara nodded. "You haven't heard, then?"

Zuko shook his head.

"What are you doing here, then?" Katara asked. "I assumed when I realized it was you that you must've just followed us here like you followed us across the rest of the world."

Zuko shook his head again. "Uncle and I have been declared traitors of the Fire Nation. My father sent Azula to apprehend us. Haven't you seen the Wanted posters? We're… on the run, I guess. Fugitives of the Fire Nation after what happened at the North Pole."

"Why?" she frowned. "You failed to capture Aang for long."

"That's why," Zuko shrugged, looking away bitterly. "I had him, and then I had nowhere to go. Reports from the soldiers who saw me and Uncle there say we fought against Zhao and as a result, the Avatar escaped and decimated a good portion of the Fire Nation naval fleet. We're wanted for treason."

"And you're hiding in Ba Sing Se?" Katara frowned.

"It's the only place the Fire Nation haven't reached," Zuko shrugged his shoulders.

"Except that you're here," Katara pointed out.

"I spend my days helping Uncle in a tea-shop nearby," Zuko argued. "I haven't used my firebending on anyone."

"No, you're just sneaking around the city dressed as the Blue Spirit."

"I saved your life," he reminded her.

"Maybe, but the outcome of the evening was the same, whether you had or hadn't," she said.

He frowned at her. "Are you accusing me of forcing myself on you?" he demanded, dropping his hold on her and looking furious and offended.

"No," Katara held up a placating hand. "I only meant that I ended up parting with my virtue, regardless. I'm grateful I gave it to you, rather than being robbed of it by those thugs."

Zuko's brow stayed furrowed and his intense eyes traced over her face carefully, searching for some sign that she was lying.

"What are you going to do about the fact that Uncle and I are in the city?" he asked finally when Katara lowered herself, sitting between his knees on the bed as she pulled his shirt on over her head.

"What are  _you_  going to do about the fact that Aang is in the city?" Katara countered. "Are you going to let me leave in the morning? Or do you plan to find another tree to tie me to, so you can use me as bait?"

"There aren't any nice trees in the city," he shrugged and Katara's eyes widened before she laughed.

"Well," she said. "I suppose that's… thoughtful… of you."

Zuko scowled at her.

"I'll still be your enemy in the morning," he warned her.

"An enemy who plans on detaining me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "Or are you going to let me go?"

"If I let you go, you'll have me over to the authorities," he said, his eyes narrowed.

"Not here, I won't," Katara admitted. "The Dai Li wouldn't hand you over to the Fire Nation. They'd probably drag you away and brainwash you or something."

Zuko's frown deepened.

"So then, we're at an impasse?" he asked. "We just… pretend we never saw each other and go about things as we were before."

"Well, I mean," Katara grinned. "I  _might_  go in search of a certain tea-shop in the middle ring in the hopes of spying the Fire Nation prince practicing customer service and being  _nice_  to people."

He looked murderous for a moment and Katara wondered if maybe he wasn't going to laugh at the joke.

"I  _might_  have to see what I can do about earning my father's forgiveness by dragging the Avatar back to the Fire Nation," he replied.

"Because that's worked out so well for you, so far?" Katara rolled her eyes. "Honestly, you'd be better off turning on your father and helping us defeat him, the way your luck is going."

Zuko looked like she'd slapped him.

"Are you calling me a failure?" he asked, his voice taking on that low and dangerous tone that made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering how to answer him before throwing caution to the wind.

"Yes," she said finally. "Every time you try to capture Aang, you always mess it up. You never think through your plan well enough of what to do  _if_  you actually manage to catch him and then you end up almost dying, like you did at the North Pole."

"I only lost him at the North Pole because of you," he retorted angrily.

"You lost because you invaded a hostile landscape and tried to conquer it with just the strength of your will alone, Zuko," Katara argued with him. "Even if it hadn't been a full moon, and even if we'd never found you, you and Aang would both have died up there in that blizzard. You went the wrong way because you were more concerned with getting Aang and keeping him for yourself, for the sake of your pride and your honour, at the detriment of your health and your safety. If you'd been working with your Nation, you'd have captured him and probably gotten him away from us before I took him back. You didn't have a plan of escape, you just want to get to him before Zhao did."

Zuko looked angry, but Katara refused to apologize.

"If, on the other hand, you spent more time doing what  _you_  want to do, rather than running after this unachievable command from your father to capture the Avatar, you'd actually get somewhere. Don't you see that?" Katara asked. "Half the time you sabotage yourself because your only goal is 'catch Aang'. You don't think beyond that. In your mind the end-result is Aang in chains, but even when you get him to that point, he gets away because you haven't thought through what to do once you get him."

"When I get him, I'll drag him home to the Fire Nation and my father will forgive me and restore my honor!" Zuko snarled at her.

Katara shook her head at him, trying to fathom how this angry, obviously intelligent young man could be so blinded in so many ways. Toph saw things more clearly that Zuko seemed to.

"Can I ask you something, Zuko?" she said quietly, hesitantly reaching out a hand and touching his bare chest, feeling his heart beating out an angry rhythm.

"What?" he snapped, glaring at her and looking like he wanted to throw her out of his room.

"What did you do to have him strip you of your honor and banish you in the first place?" Katara asked.

Zuko narrowed his eyes one her.

"What do you care?" he demanded.

She shrugged. "I want to know. Please, tell me?" she pleaded softly. "Maybe if I understood, I'd be able to help you?"

His eyes widened in shock. "You'd never turn on the Avatar," he argued.

"This morning you'd have said that you and I would never have had sex, too," she pointed out. "But we have."

Zuko's brow furrowed as he stared at her.

"I spoke out of turn and disrespected my father," he said begrudgingly.

"What did you say?" Katara frowned.

Zuko looked like he'd been fed poison as he looked away.

"I spoke out against one of my father's generals. He put forward an idea to send new recruits to fight a division of the Earth Kingdom forces, planning to use them as bait while the most experienced soldiers invaded from the rear. I protested that it was wrong to consign young warriors to death as canon fodder when they'd signed up to fight for their Nation. I said that it wasn't right to use their willingness to defend the Fire Nation as a means of sacrificing them all just for a small victory."

Katara's eyes were wide, and she waited in silence for the rest.

"When I spoke out of turn, I was told I'd insulted the general's honor, and would have to fight him in an Agni Kai. When I went to the arena and turned to fight him, my father stood in the general's place. I refused to fight him because he's my father and I was just a thirteen-year-old kid. He said that if I didn't fight, I was a disgrace to the Fire Nation, a coward, too weak to befit my bloodline. He said he would show me respect when I continued to defy his demands to fight him, and suffering would be my teacher. He encased his fist in fire and he punched me."

Zuko reached to touch his cheek where the terrible scar still marked his flesh. Katara's eyes filled with tears.

"He punished you for having compassion? For being… decent?" she asked.

"I was disrespectful," he argued.

"You spoke up defending young men who were to be slaughtered like whale-seals. You showed compassion, Zuko. I know it's probably  _not_  the case in the Fire Nation, but in the rest of the world, being a decent person involves giving a damn about what happens to other people, even if you don't know them. You tried to keep innocent men from dying for a bad cause. That is  _not_  something that strips you of honor, Zuko. The ones without honor in that story are your father and his war-generals. How could they just throw away the lives of their men like that?"

Zuko's eyes were wide as she ranted, defending his actions.

"I spoke out of turn," he said. "I refused to fight. I dishonored myself by being too cowardly to fight my father."

"You were thirteen!" Katara snapped. "No one in their right mind demands that their own son has to fight them in a fire duel just for speaking out against an evil idea, Zuko."

"I should have fought," he argued.

"You'd have worse scars than this one, if you had," she said, reaching for his scar and touching it gently. "It sounds like he was just  _looking_  for an excuse to hurt you and cast you out, Zuko."

Zuko looked away, clenching his eyes closed, Zhao's voice running through his head, telling him that if his father than wanted him back, he'd have let him return, by now. He heard Azula's voice from before his mother had disappeared, telling him that Dad was going to kill him.

"You're wrong," he bit out, opening his eyes to glare at Katara. He snatched her hand from his scar.

When she met his eyes, her expression was so sad, he almost wanted to hurt her. She looked so pitying.

"No, Zuko," she whispered. "Your father was wrong, and your sister is wrong, and if anyone else in your nation thinks you deserve this exile, then they're wrong too. They're nut-brained sadists and you're better off without them. You need to start thinking about yourself, instead of how to please them. Returning to their side isn't going to make you happy. It's just going to expose you to more of their evil."

Before he could open his mouth to refute her suggestion, Katara leaned into him, planting her lips on his once more. She threaded her hands into his hair and she pressed herself against him, kissing him soundly and trying to find a way to show him that if he'd just stop trying to appease his sadistic father, he'd be better off. She doubted she'd be able to get through to him so easily – if she knew anything about Prince Zuko, it was that he was the stubbornest boy she'd ever met – but she had to try. Even if trying meant convincing him that even though he was a prince and she was just some peasant, she could show him more kindness, more compassion, and more affection than his family or his Nation had ever done.

Zuko growled in the back of his throat, his hands closing over her waist and squeezing tightly like he might pull away, but when she traced the tips of her fingers over his scar and over his burned ear once more, he gave in with a groan of defeat, pulling her further onto his lap and holding her close until the bad feelings stirred up by their discussion were forgotten.


	2. Chapter 2

Zuko's eyes opened when the sun rose, his body tensing when he felt something pinning him to the bed and he twisted slightly, preparing to shove the weight off him. He froze when he turned his head to find a sleeping waterbender sprawled across him. His body ached when he recalled just why she was there and what they'd done to each other in the dark of the night.

Narrowing his eyes on her, Zuko noticed that she had her leg thrown over his hips, her arm slung across his ribs, and her cheek pillowed in the hollow of his shoulder. Her eyes were still closed, and her hair was a mess from having his hands running through it. She'd put his shirt back on sometime before falling asleep, but when he smoothed a curious hand over her thigh where it rested across him, he found that she was still without pants.

He almost smirked, his body entertaining thoughts of waking her up with another round, proving just how high he tended to rise with the sun. Before he could do so much as smooth his hand up her leg and to her bum, the door to his bedroom opened.

"Nephew, are you awake?" Uncle's voice intruded. "We're going to be late if you don't… hurry?"

Zuko tipped his head to stare at his uncle, wide-eyed. The old man was staring back at him, an expression of complete shock on his face. He wondered if things could get any more awkward than having his uncle walk in on him with a girl in his bed – something he'd sworn would not be an issue when Uncle had been bleating about decorating the place.

The universe, always one to show him just how much worse things could be, chose that moment to have the little Water Tribe peasant stir against him, her eyes blinking open slowly as she stretched, arching her back and her neck until Zuko heard it audibly pop. She blinked those big blue eyes at him, still looking mostly asleep and Zuko watched as she smiled widely in greeting before she realized just who she was looking at.

To her credit, she didn't flinch back or try to scramble out of his arms – and Zuko was very aware that he had his arm up the back of her shirt while his other hand rested intimately on her bum. She blinked stupidly for a moment.

"Zuko?" she asked, her voice thick with sleep.

"Katara," Zuko replied evenly, darting his eyes to his uncle and trying to will the old man to leave without making a scene.

"Katara?" Uncle's eyes widened.

Katara squeaked, twisting in Zuko's hold until she laid eyes on Uncle where he leaned in the doorway, obviously shocked beyond belief.

"Oh no," Zuko heard the girl mutter before she shot him a panicked look. Zuko returned it, not knowing what else to do.

"Uncle, maybe give us a minute?" Zuko suggested, realizing it might be the politest he'd been in a while.

"I… right! Of course. My apologies for intruding, my nephew; Miss Katara," Uncle said, positively beaming as he regained his equilibrium and bowed formally before retreating from the room.

Katara's cheeks were crimson and she was staring at Zuko in horror when the door clicked closed once more.

"Monkey-feathers!" she exclaimed when they were alone, and of all the things Zuko had expected the girl to say to him upon being caught in his bed by his uncle, half-naked and looking well ravished, that was not it.

Unable to rationalize the surprising exclamation and his embarrassment when he  _knew_  Uncle would make a big deal about this, Zuko did the only thing he could think of.

He laughed.

"Zuko!" Katara exclaimed, exasperated when he began laughing in earnest, unable to contain his amusement. "It's not funny!"

Zuko laughed harder and out in the main room of the apartment he shared with his uncle, Zuko could hear the old man beginning to laugh as well. In fact, Uncle came back, unable to help himself when he heard Zuko laughing as he couldn't remember doing in a long time.

The door to his quarters opened once more and the old man peered inside, his face alight with happiness at the sight of Zuko laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" Katara asked, her cheeks pink even as laughter bubbled up within her too.

Uncle began chuckling as he watched and Zuko shook his head, unable to breathe, knowing the old man was going to make a fuss and knowing that he'd never live his down.

"Today is going to be a very good day," Iroh announced. "Good morning, Katara."

Katara glanced at the old man.

"General," she mumbled, nodding in greeting before looking back at Zuko and shaking her head.

Zuko laughed some more when she closed her eyes and lowered her head to rest her forehead on the middle of his chest, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Breakfast?" Iroh offered. "Perhaps a refreshing cup on Ginseng tea?"

"I need to leave," Katara protested. "Sokka, Aang, and Toph will be beside themselves with worry that I didn't come home."

"Ah," Iroh nodded. "And why was that? How did you… uh… end up here?"

His eyes scanned the room, taking in Zuko's discarded Blue Spirit mask and black clothing, in addition to her stained dress and leggings. He glanced at the bowl of water and the wash cloth on the nightstand beside the burned down candle.

"She was attacked by thugs last night on her way back to the Upper Ring," Zuko shrugged his shoulders, knowing from experience that it would be easier to simply tell his Uncle, rather than letting the man guess. He would only embarrass her further if he was allowed to guess.

"And the Blue Spirit intervened?" Uncle smiled widely. Zuko was unsurprised that his Uncle knew about his extracurricular activities when he went out after dark.

"Yeah," Zuko said, reaching past Katara, searching on the floor beside the bed, trying to find his pants.

"This is embarrassing," Katara muttered into his shoulder, sitting up when he wriggled, trying to find his pants and failing.

"I'm sure a cup of tea will help," Uncle said. "I will give you privacy to get dressed."

Before he could close the door completely, Katara suddenly reached for Zuko's arms.

"Hey!" she said. "This is mine!"

Zuko glanced at his wrist where the Water Tribe necklace was tied. She pulled at it in surprise.

"You've had it this whole time?" Katara demanded, trying to untie the knots he'd used to secure it to his wrist.

"You only just noticed that it was missing?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "I got it back when Aang snatched it from you at the abbey where you chased us with the Shirshu. When did you take it again? We haven't seen you since… the North Pole?"

Zuko frowned at the piece of jewelry tied to his wrist. "You dropped it in the Sky-Bison's saddle while I was your prisoner," he answered. "I found it when I was looking for a knife, so I could get away."

"And you've…." She frowned, pulling back from him before she could pull it off his wrist. "You've been wearing it tied to your wrist since then?"

Zuko narrowed his eyes on the suddenly wary expression on her face.

"Yeah… why?" he frowned.

Katara's cheeks turned pink all over again and she looked up at Iroh for a moment before looking back at him. Zuko frowned at her, sitting up and reaching for his pants while he waited for her answer.

"It's… um… this is a betrothal necklace," she told him.

"You're betrothed!" Zuko asked, his face shifting to horrified in an instance, disgusted with himself to think he'd dishonored her and whatever betrothal contract she had with some water tribe peasant.

Her face flamed even more.

"No," she shook her head. "No, this was my mother's. Or, well, it was my grandmother's before she ran away from the Northern Tribe because she didn't love the man who'd given it to her. Anyway, she passed it on to my mother, and it's… it's all I have left of my mother after she was killed in a Fire Nation raid when I was a little girl," Katara explained.

Zuko paled, his eyes darting to the necklace around his wrist.

"Oh," he said, frowning, pausing in his attempt to put on his pants in favor of reaching for the necklace, trying to untie it from around his wrist.

"Is it important that he has been wearing it, rather than just carrying it, Katara?" Iroh asked, and Zuko froze, lifting his eyes to look at the waterbender while she watched him with an expression of nervousness, embarrassment, and maybe just a touch of confusion.

"Um…" Katara frowned, looking down at her lap, her cheeks brightening even more. "Well it's customary in my tribe that if a warrior is going off to war, his wife would take off the betrothal necklace he had carved for her, and he would wear it tied around his wrist to remember her when things get hard and to remember the promises he swore to her to always return from war."

Iroh frowned.

"What do the women have to remember their husbands by if they give back their betrothal necklaces?" the old general asked curiously.

Here, Katara's cheeks darkened even more.

"Usually a baby," she admitted quietly. "More often than not, the warrior will stay when he is married until his wife falls pregnant, and then he returns to the front, knowing he has a wife and a baby waiting on him at home. He wears the necklace to remind him of them – to remind him that, no matter how badly his is wounded, he must  _live_  in order to get home and see his wife and his unborn child."

Zuko's pulse jumped, his eyes darting down her front to rest on her stomach. He hadn't even thought about what would happen when he'd had sex with her if they weren't careful. He paled considerably, his eyes darting up to meet Uncle's in a panic before he shot a glance at her stomach then back at the old man. Iroh's eyes widened, apparently not having thought they'd had sex.

"Right," Zuko said. "Um… I guess I'd better give this back, then."

He awkwardly fiddled with the ties, trying to undo them and struggling. Katara looked up, frowning as Uncle walked away once more when the kettle began to boil, whistling softly in the other room. Zuko met her gaze, his own cheeks turning red when she looked at him so seriously.

She closed her hand over his wrist carefully, still frowning.

"Keep it for me," she said softly. "Maybe it will help you remember what I said last night, the next time you think about hunting us or doing something that goes against who you're meant to be, rather than who your father expects you to be."

Zuko frowned as she pushed herself to her feet, crossing the room and wiggling back into her bindings before pulling on her leggings. He watched as she chose to keep his shirt on when she sniffed her dress and made a face at the smell of it. Instead, she strapped her belt and her water skin around her lithe form.

"You better not have a baby in there to remember me by," he said before he could think better of it and Katara looked up at him, her eyes widening in shock at his words.

Her cheeks went crimson all over again.

"I'm sure I don't," she said, laughing.

Zuko didn't laugh, glancing out into the main room at his Uncle where the old man stood brewing tea before he quickly rose out of bed as well, pulling his pants on and fire-ferreting around until he found a clean shirt. Katara raised her eyebrows at him, suspecting this must be the uniform he wore to the tea shop. The idea amused her more than it should.

"Yeah, well, you better not," Zuko said darkly when he was dressed.

He crossed the room to chest of belongings, stuffing his Blue Spirit mask back inside and digging around until he found what he was looking for. When he rose, Katara was already on her way out the door, apparently not wanting to wear out her welcome.

"Katara," he called quietly before she could join his uncle in the main room.

"Yes?" she asked, turning back to look at him.

Zuko hesitated before crossing to her and reaching for her hand. She let him take it, and Zuko carefully tied the strip of red cloth around her wrist. It was nothing so special as her mother's betrothal necklace, just one of the bindings he wore when he was training with his swords, embroidered with the Fire Nation royal insignia. He'd had it since his banishment, never having dared to give it to anyone else.

"I can't wear a Fire Nation mark," she protested when she looked at it.

"It's not obviously Fire Nation," he told her. "This is the mark of the royal family. If you're ever captured and you have this tied around your wrist, the soldiers will spare you and bring you to whoever's mark is embroidered here."

He pointed to the emblem in his native langue that symbolized his name.

"In other words, this is some kind of 'Property of Prince Zuko' ribbon?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"It's all I have of any value to me that you can wear," he said. "A trade. You look after this for me, and I'll be sure to look after this for you."

He fingered the Water Tribe necklace tied around his own wrist. She frowned at him.

She narrowed her eyes on him. "Does this signify to your people that I'm some sort of… concubine?" she asked suspiciously.

Zuko's lips twitched with amusement.

"Considering what you were doing last night, and the fact that you're the only girl I've slept with who wasn't paid, I think you technically qualify for the title, little peasant," he said, grinned evilly at her.

She gasped in outrage, her eyes narrowing before she stepped closer and swatted his chest hard enough to sting. Zuko laughed, making his uncle look over with a smile on his face.

"They're not worn by concubines," Zuko said, catching her wrist and using the grip to pull the petite young woman closer. "They're worn only by those of the royal family and anyone deemed important to the family – usually they're given as a gift of greatest honor to those who dedicate their lives to being our protectors."

Katara's eyes widened and her cheeks darkened once more. Zuko was finding that he kind of liked making her blush.

"But… I'm not your protector," she said quietly before she smirked. "I'm the one you usually need protection from."

Zuko narrowed his eyes on her.

"And I'm not your betrothed, even though I'm wearing your betrothal necklace," he answered coldly. "Just… look after it. Think of it as a trade."

She stopped smiling, nodding seriously and Zuko darted a glance over her head at his uncle before looking back at the little waterbender who'd let him have her all through the night even though they'd fought deadly battles and waged war against one another half a hundred times, at least. She held his gaze unflinchingly and Zuko almost couldn't stand it, recalling the soft trace of her fingers and her lips over the horrible scar on his face. She hadn't flinched away or recoiled in horror. She hadn't skirted around it, refusing to touch it. She'd just accepted it as a part of him, just as she'd accepted that he'd done bad things, and probably would again.

"I should go," she said before he could think of anything to say.

Zuko nodded in agreement, his eyes darting to her lips before he pulled on the front of her shirt, dragging her closer and planting his lips on hers. She squeaked in surprise before melting against his lips, her hands resting against his chest while he threaded his free hand into her hair and Zuko kissed her hard. He had a million things he wanted to say to her ranging from spitting insults at her to the burning urge to thank her for treating him like nothing more than a lover and a friend, rather than an enemy, or a traitor, or a jerk who'd chased her across the world and tied her to a tree and tried to burn her and hurt her on too many occasions to name.

Zuko was pointedly aware that his uncle was watching them as he kissed her, but he ignored the old man's curiosity and elation, knowing he would think this some cause for hope that he might change allegiance and join the avatar. Zuko knew it was what Katara wanted, and he knew that at some stage, the Avatar was going to need a Firebending teacher.

But it couldn't be him. Not today.

All he could do was kiss her and pretend she hadn't made him feel normal for the first time in his life. When they broke apart several breathless minutes later, Zuko laid his forehead against hers, sighing softly and feeling the way her hands traced down the front of his shirt before she slipped her arms around his waist, stepping closer and burrowing into his chest, hugging him tightly. Zuko buried his nose in her hair, drawing the sweet scent of rain and, strangely, fire-lilies into his lungs and holding it there for as long as he could.

When she pulled away, Zuko caught the way she brushed a tear from her cheek before she turned away from him, stuffing her dress into her bag and walking out the door.

"General," she said politely to his uncle.

"Drink this, please," Uncle asked the girl gently. "I am not ready to be a grandfather just yet."

Zuko caught the slip of his tongue, knowing the old man thought of Zuko like he was really his son, rather than his nephew. He could tell Katara caught it too, but he watched her smile before she accepted the cup of tea that uncle had brewed especially for her.

"Tansy?" she asked curiously when she'd taken a sip.

Iroh nodded. "Among other things."

"First the ribbon of a concubine, and now the tea of one," she said softly, though she sounded amused.

Zuko hid a smirk behind his tea-cup, watching as she drank the tea down in deep gulps before wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

"Would you like breakfast?" Iroh offered, unable to keep the grin off his face.

Katara shook her. "I need to get going, before Sokka comes looking for me and finds me here."

Iroh nodded in understanding, looking a bit like he'd prefer if she didn't have to go and Zuko knew the old man really did want to make a life for them here. He wanted Zuko to stop trying to win back his honor and his father's love and his throne. He wanted them to stay here where they'd be safe. He didn't bother pointing out that of all the women in the world, Katara was the least likely to agree to settling down in some middle-class apartment in the middle of a city that denied the existence of the war. Not when she was best friends with the Avatar and had spent months helping Aang fight the oppression of the Fire Nation.

"Well, at least take this," Iroh said, handing her a slip of paper. Zuko peered at it, his cheeks darkening to see the old man had given her a coupon for a free cup of tea.

Katara's eyes danced with amusement as she read the coupon, clearly noting the name of the teashop. Zuko got the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach that she would come by just to make him fetch her a cup of tea and play nice.

"Thank you," she said, her grin positively mischievous and Zuko narrowed his eyes on her.

"You better not even think about using it, little peasant," he warned her. "In fact, I better not see you anywhere near the lower ring again. Don't make me have to save you again."

Uncle shot him an appalled look for his rudeness, but Katara laughed.

"Then don't you let me catch you sniffing around the Upper Ring,  _your highness_. I'd hate to have to hurt you. Again," she said, her smile entirely too innocent while her eyes gleamed with wickedness. In spite of himself, Zuko shot her a blood-thirsty grin.

"No promises," he said. "After all, today you're my enemy once again."

She laughed quietly before turning for the door. Zuko watched her pause to rest a hand on Uncle's shoulder.

"Thank you for the tea," she said politely before sauntering over to the door and letting herself out.

She stopped in the doorway and looked over her shoulder at him, meeting his gaze.

"You better not lose that necklace," she warned, pulling the door closed behind herself before Zuko could say another word.

Zuko shook his head, taking another sip of his tea and watching the blue water tribe pendant dangling from his wrist as he did so.

"You know, nephew," Iroh began, his voice full of amusement. "When I suggested that you might one day bring home a lady friend….  _She_  was not who I was expecting."

Zuko didn't say anything, knowing better than to encourage the old man, but as they both hustled out the door to get to work on time at the tea shop, Zuko couldn't help thinking that Katara hadn't at all been what he'd expected, either.


	3. Chapter 3

"Where the slush have you been, Katara?" Sokka shouted by way of greeting when Katara let herself into their house in the Upper Ring. He barreled toward her, scooping her into his arms and crushing her to his chest as though he hadn't seen her in months, rather than in a few short hours.

"I got stuck in the Lower Ring overnight," Katara said truthfully, having spent the entire walk back to their house planning how she would explain away her absence without revealing that she'd spent the night in the arms of their least favourite Firebender.

"What?" Sokka asked, pulling back and holding her at arm's length while he peered into her face in confusion. "How did you get stuck down there? What were you even doing down there? Isn't it full of refugees?"

"I lost track of time on my walk yesterday because I got sidetracked healing some of the sick people down there. Before I knew it, it was starting to get dark and then they locked the gates when the markets closed down and all the merchants had gone home, and so I was stuck down there for the night."

She knew she was rambling a little in her nervousness, but if Sokka noticed, he didn't let it show. He was too focused on playing the concerned big brother who'd been worried about his baby-sister all night long. Katara only hoped that he would continue to do so, rather than seeing through her story and asking why she smelled like a certain firebender they all knew and why her hair was such a mess after having someone's hot hands running through it all night long.

"Are you alright?" Sokka asked seriously. "We were really worried about you. We searched for ages. Aang and Toph wouldn't let me mount a full-scale man-hunt because then the Dai Li would get involved."

"I'm fine, Sokka," Katara smiled reassuringly. "Sorry for making you worry. Hi, Aang."

She caught the airbender when he jumped into her arms, cuddling her in relief. As she did, Katara couldn't help noticing how small he felt after spending so many hours with Zuko's strong arms wrapped around her. Aang was by no means weak. Indeed, he was an incredibly powerful bender. But he was still just a kid, barely even a teenager, unlike Zuko, who was well on his way to being a man. Aang was shorter, and thinner, and far less developed.

"We thought you'd been captured by the Dai Li," Aang told her. "We searched until it got too dark, and we were about to come looking for you this morning when Toph heard you coming."

"What are you wearing, Katara?" Sokka interrupted, his eyes trailing over her ins search of injuries or any cause for him to go full-protective-big-brother and knock some skulls together.

Glancing down at herself, Katara realised she was still wearing Zuko's shirt and her cheeks brightened with embarrassment and nervousness, recalling how hot the firebender's hands had been tracing under the fabric of this very shirt.

"Oh, I tripped and got my dress badly stained," she explained. "A nice old woman gave me a bed for the night, but the only clothes she had spare that would fit me were some of her son's."

"That was nice of her," Aang said, accepting the lie easily, never doubting that she'd be truthful, too innocent and just a little too naïve to think she might've gotten someone else's shirt by any other means than charity.

Katara nodded, glancing at Toph, who'd yet to say a word about her return, or about her having spent the night away from them all for the first time in longer than she could remember. The earthbender moved closer, smoothing her feet carefully over the ground and picking up on the vibrations in a way that would surely give her away for a liar. Before she could pick up too much, Katara held her breath, hugging the other girl.

"You should wash up," Toph said. "You don't smell that great, Katara."

"Oh, you're one to talk," Katara laughed nervously, certain the blind girl could tell she'd lied to them about her whereabouts.

"Maybe we should go together? Have that girl's day you suggested. Enjoy some pampering," Toph suggested

"Sure," Katara said, not at all liking the sound of the blind girl trying to get her alone. She got the feeling the earthbender knew she'd lied and was just itching to drill her about it.

"Great, let's go now. You boys go rustle up some food from the market," Toph ordered.

"Oh, so we don't need pampering?" Aang protested, chuckling and looking like he wanted to come with them, even if they were going to do something girly, like getting their nails done.

"I'm not letting anyone pamper me," Sokka said, rolling his eyes. "Let them go get all pretty and we'll eat, Aang. I'm starving."

Aang looked disappointed for a moment but nodded even as Toph dragged Katara out the door. She didn't speak until they were a few blocks away, and Katara nervously awaited the Earthbender's questions.

"So," Toph said leadingly. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"There is no lucky guy," Katara said, even knowing the other girl would know it was a lie.

"Mmhhmm. Try again, sweetness. You smell like a guy. All over. And you lied about the old woman."

Katara sighed. "Well, I couldn't just tell them the truth. Sokka would've had a hippo-cow."

Toph grinned.

"I want  _all_  the juicy details," she said.

"There isn't any juiciness," Katara rolled her eyes. "I lost track of time. I got chased by some thugs with unpleasant intentions. I got saved by the Blue Spirit. And he gave me somewhere to sleep for the night and a shirt to wear that didn't smell foul."

"The same Blue Spirit who rescued Aang?" Toph confirmed.

Katara nodded.

"Did you find out who he really is, then?" she asked.

Katara frowned, wondering how she would get away with lying, before realising that while she knew that Zuko was the one behind the mask, she didn't know who he was. Not really.

"No," Katara said softly. "I don't think anyone will ever figure out who the man is behind that mask. Maybe not even him."

"I don't care about his personality," Toph rolled her eyes. "I want to know if he's pretty."

Katara laughed.

"No, he's not pretty," she answered truthfully, thinking of Zuko's angry scowl and the scar marring his features.

"Wears the mask for a reason, huh?" Toph said, looking crestfallen.

"Yes," Katara said. "He could never be considered pretty. Handsome, yes. To some. Rugged. Fierce. Scary. He has a dangerous face. But if you mean pretty, like perfect, then no."

"Wait, so he's dangerous and handsome and mysterious and he saved you from thugs, and I'm supposed to believe there're no juicy details?" Toph scoffed. "I'm blind, Katara. Not stupid."

Katara laughed. "What do you take me for?" she asked. "What juiciness could there possibly be?"

"You smell like him, Katara," Toph told her.

"I'm wearing his shirt," she pointed out. "Of course, I smell like him."

"I know you're lying." Toph said, grinning. "You kissed him, didn't you?"

"Of course not," Katara denied, but they both knew it was a lie.

**~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

General Iroh of the Fire Nation watched his nephew throughout the day after finding Miss Katara in bed with the boy. He knew it wasn't Zuko's first time, but it was the first time the girl hadn't been paid for the sake of teaching him how to please a woman and ridding him of his innocence, and it was the first time he'd shared his sleeping space with anyone so intimately. Iroh had wondered throughout their travels as they hunted the avatar if the pretty Water Tribe girl might've caught Zuko's attention, but he'd been shocked beyond words to find the two in bed together that morning. He eyed Zuko as the surly prince served tea, taking orders and bussing tables. He seemed as surly as ever, despite his pleasant night, and Iroh shook his head. A smile pulled at the corners of Iroh's mouth, recalling the laughter that had burst from the prince that very morning. It had been a long time since he'd heard the prince laugh like that. Not since before Ursa's disappearance, he was sure. Certainly not in the time since his exile.

It had been good to know Zuko could still find humor and Iroh wondered what this might mean for them. Would his nephew finally see sense and realize that the only way to reclaim his throne was to take it back by force? If he worked alongside the Avatar, Zuko would win the hearts of the other nations and a good many from among the Fire Nation, too. There were many among their people who loathed Ozai's mercilessness and more still who knew they would fair even worse under Azula's reign, if such a time ever came. They would accept him as their rightful and ruling Fire Lord if Zuko would just give up on trying to win his father's love; if he would just realize that Ozai's only love in life was power.

Iroh had been trying to make him see it for years, gently trying to nudge him in the direction of understanding that Ozai hadn't and couldn't take Zuko's honour. He'd been gently trying to suggest that maybe the way forward was to forget Ozai and his commands, and to make his own way in the world. Until he could do that, Zuko would have no hope of leading a rebellion. Iroh wondered if, just maybe, the pretty Water Tribe woman would provide the push Zuko needed to outgrow the hurt and confused boy he had been, and to finally become a powerful, determined, and unstoppable young man.

He desperately hoped the girl would make use of the coupon he'd given her. He needed her to come back. She would, surely. She'd left her mother's betrothal necklace in Zuko's possession. She must mean to one day return and reclaim it. Iroh wondered if there might ever come a day when, rather than her mother's necklace, she might wear a betrothal necklace of her very own. Iroh certainly wouldn't disprove if such a necklace happed to be fashioned in Fire Nation red.

**~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

"Still no sign of Appa," Sokka sighed two weeks after Katara had spent the night in the arms of a firebender.

"Maybe we need to put up posters?" Aang suggested. "He's a ten tonne flying bison.  _Someone_  must've seen him."

"That's a great idea, Aang!" Katara said.

"Just don't look at me to design them, okay?" Toph said, deadpan.

~ **O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~**

"We should split up," Sokka announced. "We'll cover more ground that way. Aang, you take these and fly across the city, dropping them as you see fit. Toph… you come with me."

"I can put up posters by myself!" Toph argued, snatching a poster and smearing some glue on the nearby wall. She slammed her hand against the wall, sticking the poster on facing the wrong way.

Everyone was silent.

"It's upside-down, isn't it?" the Earthbender asked, sounding resigned.

"Backwards," Aang said, never the most tactful.

Toph sighed. "I'll just go with Sokka."

"Good. Katara, you take these and paper the Middle Ring and the Lower ring, alright? We'll do the Upper Ring and take the train. Everyone rides the train. If we paper it, someone is sure to know something."

Katara pressed her lips together, her heart skipping a beat at the thought of returning to the Lower ring.

"Okay," she said nonchalantly. "Though it seems like I'll be the one doing most of the work."

"Just try to be back before sundown, this time," Sokka said.

"It's okay," Katara smiled. "I'm sure the old woman I stayed with last time wouldn't mind having me stay again, if I get stuck down there."

"If you're not back before dark, I'll come looking for you," Sokka warned her.

"Worry wart," Katara accused, rolling her eyes before taking a satchel full of posters and a pot of glue.

"Be good," Toph called, letting Sokka lead her away by the wrist even as she called over her shoulder in a sing-song voice designed to embarrass her.

"Oh, don't worry," Katara muttered, slipping her hand into her pocket and fingering the coupon for the tea shop where Zuko worked. "I plan to."

Toph cackled as she was led away and Katara felt a wicked little grin crawl her face as she wandered in the direction of the lower ring, far in the distance, papering the walls with posters as she went.


	4. Chapter 4

"Uncle, I need two jasmine, one ginseng, and an oolong tea on table five," Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation called across the tea-shop, his voice that low rasp that made Katara's skin prickle. She strolled into the shop and peered around curiously, her lips twitching when she spied Zuko dressed in Earth Kingdom green and wearing a slightly soiled apron.

He was in the process of hurrying an order over to hand to his uncle, and to collect a pot of tea and some cups for the table in the corner when she sauntered toward an empty table right in front of the counter. It was clear no one wanted to sit there from the way every other table was full and from the way Zuko – clearly in a bad mood – tossed a serving tray down on it before carrying the teapot and cups to the table without it.

He didn't notice her at first, not until she was about to sit down. Katara watched him turn to her, wearing an aggravated expression, before flashing a clearly faked smile of greeting automatically until he recognized who she was. Katara almost laughed when he stopped dead in his tracks – in the process of collecting someone's used cups – and narrowed his eyes on her.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, stomping closer and Katara couldn't help it.

She laughed.

How someone could sound so condescending and so mean even whilst wearing an apron was beyond her, but he managed it.

"I heard this place is serving the best tea in the city," Katara said, trying to wipe the smile off her face. "And a kind man gave me this wonderful coupon for a free cup of tea the last time I visited the lower ring."

Zuko's eyes narrowed even more.

"I warned you not to use that," he said in a low voice, stalking closer until he invaded her personal space.

"It's kind of cute that you actually believed I was going to do what you said," Katara grinned, refusing to back down.

She couldn't help it. Even knowing he had a temper, and knowing he was a jerk, she kind of wanted to torment him just to see what he'd do.

"Do you think that being in a room full of people will protect you, little peasant?" he asked, his voice sliding across her senses and making her quiver.

"Do you think I need protection from you?" she countered, tipping her eyes up to meet his.

He glared at her, looking like he wanted to throw her out of the shop.

"Katara?" Iroh's voice intruded.

Katara grinned, turning from the angry prince to smile widely at the old man. He beamed at her, looking like he couldn't be happier to see her.

"Hello, Uncle," she said, floundering for only a moment when she realized that they would be unlikely to be using their real names, and she didn't know their cover names.

She heard Zuko draw in a breath of surprise at the address. If the General minded that she'd called him 'uncle', he didn't show it.

"It's good to see you again," Iroh said. "Would you like some tea? Li, why don't you show the lovely Katara to a table? That one, nice and close, so that I can talk to her while I'm brewing."

Katara smiled.

"I'd love some tea," Katara smiled. "Can you do a blend of jasmine and white-dragon?"

Iroh's eyes widened as though he hadn't even thought of combing the two.

"Of course, I can," he said.

"White-dragon is the most expensive tea on the menu," Zuko sneered from behind her.

Katara turned and raised her eyebrows at him before grinning.

"I'm sure I can afford it," she assured him quietly. "Though, as I mentioned, I have a coupon."

Zuko glared at her.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded, snatching the serving tray up off the table she'd already been intending to sit at and jerking a chair out for her like a proper gentleman.

"Putting up flyers," Katara said innocently, irking him all the more when she ignored the chair he clearly intended to tuck her into, sauntering across the tea-shop to a noticeboard and pasting one of her pictures of Appa on it.

"You can't put that up in here," Zuko hissed, following her across the room and reading it over her shoulder before reaching for it like he might pull it down.

Katara caught his arm before he could snatch it off the wall, snagging her fingers around her necklace where it was still snugly secured around his wrist.

"It's the civic duty of the entire city to help find the avatar's bison, Li," she chided, staring up at him and watching the way the fire of his anger glittered in his eyes. "Appa is essential to the war effort if we are to triumph over the Fire Nation."

"He'll be essential to your kidnapping if any of these thugs figure out you're with the Avatar and that you've probably got more money on you than any of them have seen in their lives," Zuko hissed, jerking her closer when he tried to pull his arm from her grip and she refused to release him.

"I think I can fend off any plucky thieves," she muttered, patting her waterskin indicatively.

"Because that did you so much good the last time you were down here?" he challenged, glaring down his nose at her from so close that she was suddenly aware that his burned eye had no eyelashes.

"I'm sure that if anything goes wrong and I'm unable to defend myself, there'll be a masked hero lurking somewhere, just waiting to rescue me," she replied, grinning.

"I don't make it a habit of saving the same person twice," he said.

"Sure, you don't," Katara said quietly, very aware that she was flirting with him, but unable to help herself.

She hadn't been able to think about anything else for the past two weeks. Every time she closed her eyes, she could feel the searing heat of his skin against hers, and she could almost taste his lips on hers, once more.

He glared at her even more, suspecting a trap, and Katara grinned before very deliberately brushing against him as she squeezed past him to return to her table. As she did, she spied a pretty girl sitting in the corner of the room, watching the two of them intently. From the way she watched them, Katara got the feeling the poor girl have developed a crush on Zuko and thought her some interloper, there to steal his affections. Katara supposed she might need her head examined when she felt the strongest urge to do just that.

"You need to leave," Zuko growled quietly as he followed, right on her heels as she made her way back across the shop.

"I will," she said, before plonking herself down that the table. "After I have my cup of tea. Don't you have tables to clear?"

He narrowed his eyes on her when someone across the shop called for his attention, waving an empty teapot and clearly wanting a refill.

"You'll pay for this, little peasant," he warned.

"Oh, yeah?" Katara challenged, raising her eyebrows, just daring him to do something.

Zuko growled and turned away, getting back to work before he could get into trouble.

"So, you are putting up flyers?" Iroh asked, drawing her attention.

"Yes," Katara smiled. "Appa is missing. He was stolen when we were in the desert and we've been trying to find him."

"I haven't heard any rumours about him," Iroh said sadly. "Though, I expect I know someone who has become an expert at locating that bison."

Katara smiled widely.

"Me too," she said. "Think he could be persuaded to help?"

"I suppose that depends on the currency of your persuasion," Iroh grinned, shooting her a wink and Katara blushed.

She glanced toward Zuko, who was stuffing used crockery into a tub across the room whilst glaring at them. He cleared the cup and pot from the table of the pretty girl in the corner without taking his eyes off Katara while she chatted with Iroh, and Katara was a little bit ashamed that she felt a thrill of pleasure when the girl looked a little crestfallen.

She knew she had no right to be happy that he was focusing on her instead of another pretty girl, and she knew she shouldn't be concerned with who Zuko looked at or what other girls thought about him. She knew, but still she found herself thinking that if anyone was going to steal his attention, it would be her.

"I'm a world traveler," Katara told Iroh, smirking at the old man. "I have plenty of different currencies rattling around in my pockets. I'm sure something will persuade him. Or I could always knock some sense into him?"

Iroh laughed out loud, clutching his belly and chortling with glee at her suggestion.

"You might get a little knocked into you, too," Iroh cautioned. "I'm certain there are other currencies that could be acceptable to him."

"Not with that scowl," Katara chuckled when Zuko narrowed his eyes, glaring at them all the more.

Iroh looked in the direction of his nephew, too, and he laughed a little more.

"It's a good thing our shift is almost over," Iroh said, shaking his head. "He was already grumpy, but with that scowl, he is likely to snap at the customers."

"I'm sure your delicious tea will make up for his surliness," Katara said, grinning. "After all, look at all these people, braving their waiter's bad temper just for another cup of your teas."

Iroh's cheeks turned pink and he smiled humbly.

"You are too kind, Miss Katara."

Katara smiled. "Just telling the truth. Even drinking the last tea you made for me – which is not exactly the sweetest brew in the world – it was tasty."

"Perhaps you just had something of an appetite after your exertions," Iroh offered slyly and it was Katara's turn to blush. "Oh, dear."

Katara looked over when there was a crash behind the counter and the old man made a face of distress.

"Uncle, what is it?" she asked at exactly the same time as Zuko, who hurried across the shop when Iroh frowned and clapped a hand to his forehead.

He pointed toward the ground, where a large ceramic pot that he must've been using to store water for brewing the tea had cracked open, spilling water all over the ground.

"What happened?" Zuko asked, peering over the counter in confusion.

"I accidentally kicked it and it broke," Iroh admitted.

"Uncle, you're bleeding," Katara said, leaping right over the counter and squatting in the puddle to examine the gash on the old man's foot.

"The pottery went right through my sandal," Iroh said.

"Are you alright, Uncle?" Zuko asked, rounding the counter and squatting beside Katara.

He caught her wrist when she was gathering the water to heal the General.

"What are you doing?" She asked, frowning at him. "I can heal him."

"Not in here," Zuko muttered even as the shop owner hurried over to investigate.

"Oh dear," the owner was saying. "Your shift is almost over, Mushi, why don't you head home? Li..."

Katara watched the man look around at the shop full of customers, obviously knowing it would be mayhem if the head brewer and their only waiter left simultaneously with no one to cover for them.

"I'll take Uncle home," Katara offered. "Li, you finish your shift until your replacement arrives."

Zuko opened his mouth like he might argue, but Iroh put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"I am alright. I just need to be patched up, nephew. It's not far to the apartment. I will see you at home in just a little more than an hour."

"But, Uncle," Zuko protested, frowning.

"He'll be fine," Katara smiled reassuringly, rising to her feet. "I'll see to him. We'll see you at home."

Before Zuko could say anything else, Katara grabbed the front of his shirt and went up on her toes, pulling him down just far enough to brush a kiss to his lips. Despite his surprise, he responded in kind, kissing her back before she pulled away.

"Come on, Uncle," Katara said. "Let's get you home."

She took the old man's arm, wrapping it around her shoulders and letting him lean on her as she helped him out of the shop. She could tell Zuko wasn't happy about finishing his shift, but he didn't protest any further before they were out the door.

"I might have to keep you around more often just to prevent him from arguing like that in future," Iroh chuckled as he hobbled up the street.

"We needed a cover for why I appeared out of nowhere today and jumped the counter and called you 'uncle'. Sorry about that, I didn't know what your cover name was."

"It's perfectly alright," Iroh smiled. "Seeing Zuko's face when you say it is well worth it."

"How far is it to your house from here?" She asked. "I need to heal that foot. You're losing a lot of blood."

"Just around this corner," Iroh said. "Thank you for your help, Katara. "

"You're welcome," Katara said, helping him around the corner and up the stairs into his apartment. "Alright, sit down and I'll heal you."

She helped him into a chair before squatting once more and bending the water from her pouch to enclose his foot. Iroh sighed as the healing took effect and Katara's brow furrowed as her healing raced along his chi paths, picking up a few things that she didn't like the feel of.

"General?" She asked quietly, looking up at him.

"Yes?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"How long have you been feeling run down and experiencing these pains?"

"What pains?" He asked, though he looked guilty.

"Your chest still isn't properly healed inside after Azula's attack," Katara told him seriously. "And I'd be willing to bet you're suffering with arthritis."

Iroh sighed, nodding.

"I took a few tumbles and beatings getting here," he admitted. "There hasn't been much chance for rest or comfort when we needed money for food. Being a fugitive is not easy."

"Will you allow me to heal you?" Katara asked quietly. "It might make you tired."

"I need to get dinner on to feed Zuko when he gets home," Iroh admitted. "He makes bad choices and almost poisons me when he cooks."

Katara laughed.

"How about you put on a pot of tea, I'll make dinner, and you let me heal you?" She bargained.

"Can you do so before Zuko returns?" Iroh asked. "I don't want to burden him with my aches and pains."

Katara smiled, recognizing that for all his good nature, he was a proud old man who didn't want to be seen as weak in front of his nephew.

"I can," Katara nodded. "Doing so will make you tired because some of the aches are because of scar tissue, incorrectly healed hurts, and the result of your age. But you will feel much better when you wake up, I promise."

"You are too kind," Iroh said.

"It might be best if you lie down, General," Katara said. "You might feel a bit dizzy as I heal you."

Iroh did as instructed, lying on the floor in the middle of the room. When he was comfortable, Katara kneeled next to him, bending her element and placing her hands on his chest and closing her eyes. She could feel scar tissue and a tightness under his skin from Azula's attack and tension in the surrounding muscles where he'd compensated for the injury. His breath grew laboured as she worked but she didn't let up.

"There's a lot of energy knotted up around here," she told the general softly. "I can't heal the external scarring, but I can undo some of the internal damage."

Katara felt the way his skin heated rapidly under her touch, making her wonder if it was some kind of firebender defense response. She pushed harder with her bending, chasing the damage through his blood and tissue, feeling the way much of the damage began knitting back together, her bending forcing the cells to rejuvenate.

"That feels strange," Iroh said quietly, his breath coming easier when his body healed much of the internal damage that had been paining him.

"You can feel the cells rejuvenating?" She asked, opening her eyes to meet his gaze.

"Feels like the fire in my chi has just sparked, crackling through me like lightning, without the burn."

Katara smiled. "Tingling?"

Iroh nodded.

"Good, that means it's almost healed. I'm going to chase the pain from your joints next," she told him. "It might sting a little. Healing bone is harder than skin and tissue."

Iroh nodded, bracing for the onslaught of sensation. Katara took a slow, deep breath, smoothing her hands over his chest to his shoulders and healing the worn cartilage in the joint. Iroh's breathing grew more and more laboured as she worked and Katara shifted her hands slowly down his body to his hips, his knees and his ankles.

"Roll over and I'll do your back, too," Katara said when she'd finished with his feet.

"Will I be able to walk tomorrow?" Iroh asked, sounding tired, but happy.

"You'll sleep well tonight," Katara said. "But I expect that tomorrow you'll feel better than you have in years."

"One can only hope," he said, rolling to his stomach and groaning when Katara used her waterbending to realign his spine and unknot all the tense muscle there.

She smiled when she was finished and patted his shoulder gently.

"Why don't you wash up, so you'll be ready for bed after dinner?" She said. "I'll cook."

"I don't think there's much in the pantry," Iroh said ruefully. "I usually stop at the market on my way home."

"I'll get something," she offered. "What time is Zuko likely to be home?"

"Another hour or so," Iroh smiled.

"Good," she said.

"Let me give you some coins," Iroh said when she made for the door.

"I think I've got it covered, General," she said, lifting her bag and shaking it, making her heavy coin purse rattle.

"You can't spend your money on us," he protested.

"I don't even earn it, Iroh. People just give it to me because I'm travelling with the avatar. There's plenty more back at our house. Save your coins. If I spend my money, I can buy whatever takes my fancy. Do you have any requests for dinner?"

"Do you know how you make fire-chicken seared with moon-peach and sunberry sauce?" He asked hopefully.

Katara smiled. "No, but I could give it a try. Is that a traditional fire nation delicacy?"

Iroh nodded.

"It is. Though I would also welcome traditional Water Tribe food, if you're willing to share?" The old man said.

Katara beamed at him.

"I'll see what I can find," she said before hurrying out the door and heading for the market.

She was surprised to find that despite being in the lower ring, the produce range was wider than in the upper ring. She managed to get sunberries, moon peaches, sweet-melon, and even found some sea prunes. She bought extra, knowing Sokka would love a feast of stewed sea prunes when she got back to the house. She glanced at the sky, knowing she would need to hurry if she was going to make it all the way back to the upper ring before they locked the gates at nine. It might still be four hours off, but it was at least an hour's walk back.

She grabbed up as many groceries as she could carry before hurrying back, knowing that if she wasn't cooking before Zuko showed up, he would distract her entirely and Iroh would have to make something himself.

"Oh, let me help you," Iroh laughed when she struggled up the stairs with her baskets.

"Thank you," she said. "Alright, I got sunberries and moon peaches and fire-chicken and all of this other stuff."

"Goodness, child, how much do you imagine we eat?" Iroh chuckled. "We might be royalty, but it has been years since either of us have had a feast like this."

"I like variety in my diet," she shrugged. "And the vendors wouldn't sell me the baskets without them being full."

Iroh laughed, shaking his head at her even as he began helping her unload the baskets so they could begin the meal.

"So," she said. "Tell me what to do to make this dish you so enjoy?"

"First when need to chop some of the moon-peaches and the sun-berries," Iroh explained. "Then we smush it to make a thick paste with the fruit and the juices, which wraps around the chicken like a blanket and is cooked on a high heat in a pan."

"What's it usually served with?" she asked.

"A mint, cucumber and red-onion salad dressed with lemon juice," Iroh smiled.

"Sounds delicious," she smiled.

"It is," Iroh nodded. "It's Zuko's favourite, in fact."

"No pressure, then?" Katara laughed.

Iroh chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. Katara focused on the cooking after that, Iroh helping her locate everything before leaving her to it so that he could bathe after the long day he'd spent in the tea shop.

Before he returned, the apartment was full of the smell of the many dishes she was preparing and Katara hummed while she worked, twirling the knife as she chopped vegetables and fruits, slicing the meat, peeling the sea prunes before dumping them in to stew.

She almost jumped out of her skin when someone set a heavy basket down on the table behind her and Katara squeaked in surprise. Spinning, the knife she clutched held protectively in front of her, Katara's eyes widened at the sight of Zuko suddenly filling up her gaze.

"Oh," she said. "You're home."

"What are you still doing here?" Zuko growled at her, apparently in an even worse mood now than he'd been in when they'd left him at work.

"Making dinner," she smiled. "Iroh's bathing."

"You're not staying for dinner, little peasant," he warned. "We had a deal that you'd stay out of the lower ring."

"We did not," she rolled her eyes. "The only deal we made was that you wouldn't lose my necklace, and I wouldn't lose this."

She pointed to her neck where she'd moved the ribbon he'd given her, having tied the red strip of fabric around her neck in the place of her necklace. He eyed it with surprise.

"You can't wear that around your neck, Katara," he frowned at her. "My name is clearly legible. If anyone from the Fire Nation sees that, they'll think you're my wife. "

"What?" She hissed in surprise.

"When worn around the neck, those are the equivalent of a wedding band," Zuko said. "I tied it to your wrist for a reason. Around the wrist it means you're a warrior of the royal family. With my name showing like that, around your neck, it means marriage."

"You didn't tell me that," Katara hissed.

"I didn't think you'd take it off your wrist," he replied.

"Well... Sokka kept giving it funny looks around my wrist. I had to move it and tell him it was a necklace to make him stop annoying me about it."

"So, you're wearing something that typically only the Fire Lord's wife would wear, and I'm wearing something that, in the Water Tribe, means I'm your husband?" he confirmed.

"Technically," Katara nodded, her cheeks flushing.

"Why are you here, Katara?" Zuko demanded. "We're enemies, remember? Last time didn't change that."

Katara rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, right," she scoffed. "You've known exactly where Aang is for the last two weeks and you haven't even tried to capture him. Everything has changed, Zuko."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "It hasn't."

Katara rolled her eyes, turning away to stir the stew and turn the fire-chicken. She was nervous, having her back to the prince, but she tried not to let it show.

"Your uncle is healed," she said, changing the subject quickly. "He might be tired tomorrow. He was in pretty bad shape."

"It was just a cut on his foot," Zuko sneered.

Katara turned back to him, darting a glance toward the door to make sure that Iroh wasn't on his way back from the bath house. She doubted the old general wanted his nephew to know the full extent of his aches and pains.

"No, Zuko," Katara said quietly. "It wasn't. Your uncle isn't a young man, you know? And the way you've been living hasn't been good for his health. He had more aches and pains that you can probably imagine. I'm surprised he's been able to get out of bed, to be honest. I've healed him of everything I could fix, and I expect in the coming days you'll see a renewed man in him. But he was in a bad way, Zuko. His bones and his joints can't bounce back as easily as yours or mine after being thrown off the back of a rhino, or tossed about in a fight, or being forced to dance for his dinner."

"He told you about those things?" Zuko frowned at her.

"Only because I asked what he'd been doing to hurt himself so badly. He's been suffering through and keeping the pain from you to keep from adding to your stress, but I expect he'll be in need of a big sleep, and some better food. Hence," she waved her hands towards the amount of food she'd been cooking.

Zuko eyed the food coldly for a moment before lifting his eyes to meet hers, his brow furrowed, and his face pulled into that ever-present frown.

"Why do you care?" he asked in a low voice. "I hardly need to point out all the things I've done to you over the past few months. We're enemies. What do you care if an old firebender is too stiff to go about his day without pain?"

Katara sighed, turning away and stirring the many dishes she was juggling on the stove.

"The things you've done to me and my friends had little to do with your uncle," Katara replied quietly. "In fact, I recall overhearing him trying to talk you out of hunting us, more than once. Iroh is a kind old man who has put himself through horribly uncomfortable things for your sake, Prince Zuko. I don't doubt that the man would prefer to be sitting in a tea-shop somewhere in the Fire Nation where he could get daily massages and enjoy the quiet life in the lap of luxury as a retired and renowned General and a Prince of the royal family. He didn't have to put that on hold for you, and yet he did so. The least you could do is watch out for him and make sure he's comfortable."

"So, you're doing my job?" Zuko demanded in a low voice and Katara could hear him moving closer until he stood directly behind her. She could feel the heat of his anger on the back of her neck, but she didn't turn around.

"It was within my capabilities to heal him of all the things ailing him, and I did," Katara said quietly.

"Why are you here?" Zuko growled, and Katara could tell that he wasn't going to let her change the subject or deflect the question again.

"I don't know," Katara answered truthfully, her voice just barely a whisper.

Zuko's hands closed over her shoulder, his grip tight as he spun her to face him. Katara didn't dare meet his gaze. She could feel her cheeks burning and if she closed her eyes, she could almost pretend they were back in the dark in his bedroom two weeks ago. She was alarmingly aware of the prince as he stood there inside her personal space, glaring down at her and probably exasperated with her honesty.

"What do you want from me, Katara?" Zuko asked quietly, his voice tight with anger and Katara shook her head.

"Nothing," she whispered.

"You're lying," Zuko said. "Everyone wants something."

Katara sighed, tipping her eyes up to meet his gaze, surprised all over again by the complex kaleidoscope of colors in those golden pools.

"I don't know what I want from you," she clarified. "I don't know why I came down here. I don't know why we did what we did, and I don't know why I can't stop thinking about it. But I can't, and we did, and I'm here. Maybe I hoped that seeing you would make it all make sense, or that you'd have an answer."

Zuko's eyes narrowed, and Katara watched the way his gaze jumped between her eyes and her lips. She wondered if he was thinking about kissing her again. There was a part of her that knew she shouldn't let him. Part of her knew she never should have let him. But she had, and she wanted to kiss him again. She'd been dreaming about kissing him. She'd been dreaming about all the heat that had wrapped around her so completely when he'd been inside her and she hated herself a little for wanting to feel that again.

"Are you keeping tabs on me?" Zuko asked, surprising her. "Trying to make sure I stay here in the lower ring, rather than hunting you and the Avatar again?"

"Seeking you out hardly suggests fear of you stalking me, Zuko," Katara pointed out.

Zuko's good eye twitched like she annoyed him and Katara fought the urge she had to smile, knowing he would think she was lying if she smiled. His eyes darted over her face for a long moment before he suddenly gave a mean little smile.

"Bored of the Avatar's company, little peasant?" he sneered quietly.

"No," Katara denied.

"You are," he told her knowingly. "You're bored in the city without the thrill of danger knowing me and the rest of the Fire Nation are all hunting you. You're looking for the thrill of danger, should your friends figure out where you are and who you're with."

"I am not," Katara argued, frowning at him. "Maybe I wanted to make fun of the disgraced prince living like a peasant."

Zuko lost his smirk in an instant, his eyes narrowing on her once more and he stepped closer, lifting his hand to collar her throat threateningly. Katara wasn't scared. He wasn't going to hurt her.

"Maybe you wanted to lure the disgraced prince between your legs again," he retorted and Katara narrowed her eyes on him in return.

"Maybe I did," she hissed bravely, though her cheeks warmed with embarrassment.

"Good," Zuko grunted and Katara drew in a surprised breath when his hand around her throat slid into the hair at the nape of her neck, tipping her head up as he closed the small distance between them, claiming her lips in a hot kiss.

Katara was rather ashamed of the way she melted into him, her hands lifting to his chest and her body wilting into his arms as she kissed him back hungrily. He wasn't hesitant or careful this time, instead surging forward, his lips rough against hers as he kissed her hotly. One hand knotted in her hair, his other hand slid around her waist, splaying against the small of her back and pressing her to him more fully.

He nipped her lower lip before licking away the sting, his tongue sweeping in to meet hers and Katara sighed, pulling him closer still. Her whole body was on fire and his touch practically scolded, but she couldn't get close enough. When he lifted her up to perch on the kitchen bench, Katara curled her legs around him.

Zuko jerked back from her when Katara broke the kiss with a pained hiss, accidentally burning her elbow on the frying pan.

"Ouch," she complained, twisting the appendage and frowning at the bright red burn on her flesh. Using her bending, she coated her hand in it and pressed it to the burn, soothing it and healing it instantly.

"You shouldn't be here," Zuko said, unfurling her legs from around himself and stepping backward when she realized she was going to burn the food in her distraction.

"I know," Katara said.

Zuko didn't say anything else before he turned away and paced across the room. She could tell he was still angry when he opened the door to his bedroom and stomped inside it, pulling his shirt off over his head as he did. She almost dropped her stirring spoon at the sight, her hands itching to trace over all that finely muscled skin.

He caught her looking and one corner of his mouth twitched like he might smile, but he didn't let it reach his eyes.

"You should wash up before dinner," Katara said, trying to sound casual as she forced herself to turn away. She turned the chicken and stirred the stew without looking at him, hyper aware that he was behind her and watching her.

"What are you cooking?" He asked quietly, and she nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized he'd snuck up behind her as one of his hands curled around her middle.

"Um... a little of everything. Your uncle asked me to make a few things from the Fire Nation and this is a traditional Water Tribe stew and that one's this really tasty spiced fish that we tried in Omashu and this one is an Air Nomad delicacy that Aang taught me to make and..." she trailed off when he pressed his lips to the side of her neck, molding his body against her back and curling his other arm around her snugly.

"Why did you come, Katara?" He asked. "We're still enemies."

"No, we're not," Katara argued quietly. "Enemies don't kiss like we just kissed."

"I tied you to a tree," he reminded her. "Fought you countless times. Tried to kidnap your friend."

"I know," she said. "And my friends would lose their minds if they knew I was here. But I am, just the same."

"Trying to convert me to team avatar?" Zuko asked, sounding amused.

Katara sighed.

"Is it working?" she asked.

"You'd never convince your friends to forgive me, even if it was," he argued. "They hate me."

"They could change their minds, if you were willing to help Aang learn firebending."

"And turn traitor to my Nation?" he asked. "Betray my people? My family?"

"They already consider you a traitor, Zuko," she argued. "Both as the prince, and as the Blue Spirit. They'd put you in chains if they could find you. Do they deserve your loyalty? Your sister is a psychotic bitch, and your father is a sadistic, power hungry, cruel wretch who loves you so much he disfigured your face and banished you with a task to hunt down and capture someone that hadn't been seen in a hundred years. He doesn't want you back, Zuko. He doesn't deserve your loyalty."

Zuko jerked away from her with a growl of fury.

"You don't even know him!"

"And you do?" Katara challenged. "You haven't been home in three years. Does he bother to send you letters? Or does he just send soldiers to capture you?"

Zuko glared at her from across the room.

"I disgraced myself by refusing to fight," he argued. "My father is right to be ashamed of me."

Katara spun to face him, narrowing her eyes dangerously.

"You were a thirteen year old boy who spoke up in opposition of a downright disgusting plan to ritually sacrifice untrained boys just for the sake of having a distraction in battle, Zuko. You were incorrectly accused of disrespecting a jaded, sadistic, blood-thirsty old man who would prefer to line his pockets with the profits of war over concerning himself with the lives and sacrifices of the soldiers he is supposed to be invested in training and protecting. Whoever that man was, he offered those boys up like freshly butchered meat to a pack of rabid dog-bears, and anything less than disgust and opposition to such a plan would have been both spineless and horrifying on your part.

"You did the right thing, and to have been punished for speaking out - especially given that you're a prince and he's just a war lord, no matter his rank - is beyond ludicrous. To then be expected to fight your own father, who for all intents and purposes is the King of your entire Nation and is supposed to have the interests of his citizens at heart, is ridiculous, twisted, and utterly barbaric. That would be the equivalent of my father expecting Sokka or I to fight him for suggesting we hunt Whales instead of our fellow tribesmen. Can't you see that? He not only expected you to engage in an unfair and horribly rigged fight, he forced you to do so in front of the entire Nation, and when you refused to meet his outrageous terms, he banished you. You're his son, Zuko. Would he ever banish Azula for refusing to fight?"

"Azula would never have refused to fight," Zuko argued hotly.

"Yes, because she's as twisted and sadistic as him. She'd probably have relished the idea of challenging him because she's as thirsty for power as he is," Katara snarled. "No father who loves his children would ever willing cast them out on their own, Zuko."

"Oh, and what did your father do?" Zuko sneered angrily in retort. "Mine sent me away from the Palace with a mission that would better the future of the Fire Nation, if I was to succeed. Yours just left. How old were you when he sailed away, hmm?"

"That was an entirely different thing," Katara hissed. "My Dad left us with Gran Gran because he needed to fight in the war to protect our Tribe, and he needed to avenge my mother's murder. Yours publicly disgraced you and threw you out of your home and your country just for daring to oppose the needless and despicable bloodshed of war. How dare you suggest that they're even remotely the same. My father did what he did to protect me. He put himself in danger so that Sokka and I would be safe. Yours cast you out, alone, and ordered you to fend for yourself, daring to dangle the carrot of being allowed to return only if you achieve something no one has managed in one hundred and twelve years. He doesn't want you back, Zuko. Maybe he never wanted you to begin with."

Zuko roared at her, flinging an arc of fire in her direction, and Katara's eyes widened in shock, but before it could connect and burn her, and before it could destroy the apartment, Iroh appeared, redirecting and dousing the fire with a bit of fancy bending.

"Get out!" Zuko shouted at her around his Uncle, looking very much like he wanted to murder her.

"Just because you don't want to hear the truth, Zuko, doesn't make it any less true," Katara said, refusing his command.

He flung more fire at her, and Iroh stopped it again before it could connect with her.

"Zuko!" Iroh shouted when the boy looked like he was going to breath fire over everything in his fury. "Enough!"

"You heard what she said, Uncle!" Zuko snarled.

"And she was right," Iroh said quietly.

Katara crossed her arms over her chest and Zuko spluttered, his eyes widening in shock. He stared at his uncle, bewildered.

"Ozai cast you out over something small and foolish, Prince Zuko," Iroh said gently. "Think of all the times when Ursa was still at the Palace and he made a point of belittling you and favouring your sister. Think of all the times after Ursa was gone that he stared at you with disdain when you weren't as gifted at Firebending and weren't as ruthless as Azula."

Zuko's eyes narrowed hatefully.

"He wanted you gone, Zuko," Iroh said. "From the moment when you were just a baby, Ozai has been disappointed in you and has been looking for a way to be rid of you. When you didn't immediately show signs of being able to Firebend, he planned to have you hurled from the castle walls to die while you were just an infant. He has never loved you, Zuko. He saw an opportunity to be rid of you, and he took it."

"He gave me a ship and a crew, even though he banished me," Zuko argued.

Iroh looked sad, moving over to sit at the kitchen table even as he shook his head.

"No, Prince Zuko," he said. "Those were bartered for you by me. By Fire Nation law, any man or woman who is banished must be off Fire Nation land within twenty-four hours of their banishment. I got you out of the palace. I bartered to get you a ship and a crew and enough money to survive. I ensured we had a healer on board to attend you while you were unconscious and recovering from the burn to your face. Ozai banished you after injuring you so badly, doubting you would wake before the twenty-four hours were up and planning to have you killed before announcing that you were weak and had succumbed to your injuries. He does not want you back, my nephew. He never wants to see you again."

Katara covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes as she watched the way Zuko's face belied his confusion and his fury. His breath grew labored and he looked like he wanted to believe it was all a vicious lie.

"I'm so sorry, nephew," Iroh whispered. "I did not mean for you to find out this way. I hoped you might come to the realization on your own, in time, and that you would turn your anger on Ozai for what he has done."

"You're lying," Zuko shook his head. "My father…"

He trailed off.

"He's never written to you," Iroh went on, driving the point home though he sounded loathe to do so. "He's never enquired after your well-being."

"He sends money," Zuko frowned. "Or he did, before we were both declared traitors."

Again, Iroh shook his head.

"The money came from withdrawals I made from the royal vaults. Since it is still my right to do so, and since you were out of Ozai's hair and no longer in line for the throne, he did not stop me, but he does not care about you, Zuko. He is not sitting at home, wondering if you are happy, or wondering what type of man you are becoming. He thinks only of power and war."

Zuko shook his head in disbelief, obviously reeling and Katara's heart clenched for him while tears ran down her cheeks. Seeming at a loss of what to say, and obviously still furious in addition to being hurt, Zuko turned and stomped back into his bedroom, slamming the door hard enough that it bounced open again before sliding closed.


	5. Chapter 5

Katara looked over at Iroh when he sighed and put his head in his hands. She could tell from the way he drew in a shaky breath that he wanted to cry over having to hurt his nephew with the truth. Crossing the room, she squeezed the General's shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I shouldn't have brought it up."

Iroh shook his head, clearing his throat and peering up at her.

"Miss Katara, can I ask why you came back?" he said. "Why did you ever come here at all?"

He didn't sound bitter or angry. He sounded genuinely curious.

Biting her lip and looking in the direction of Zuko's closed bedroom door, she shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

"He saved me from those thugs while dressed as the Blue Spirit, and when we realized the gates to the middle and upper rings were closed, I mentioned that I had nowhere to go, and that I was afraid to stay on the streets by myself in case those thugs came back. I didn't realize that Zuko was the Blue Spirit until we go back here."

"And yet, when you found out, you stayed," Iroh said, looking curious about why she might do so.

Katara sighed.

"He's never really  _hurt_  me," she said quietly, stirring the stew and turning the fire-chicken before moving over to sit beside the old man when he used his bending to heat a fresh pot of tea. "I mean, he's chased us and harassed us, and his destroyed villages and beat up Sokka and tried to capture Aang… but he saved Aang when Zhao caught him, and he saved me from those thugs, and even when he captured me and tied me to a tree as bait to try and catch Aang, he never actually hurt me in any lasting sense. And I was scared to be on the streets by myself for the night – more scared of that than I was of Zuko, anyway."

"You slept with him," Iroh reminded her, and she could tell the old man didn't want details, but  _did_  want to know how they both could possibly have done so when they were enemies.

Sighing and sipping her tea, Katara nodded heavily. "I don't know what to say, General. We are both young, and riddled with hormones. We're both impulsive. Foolish, even. The bed is small, and we both had to change our clothes, and one thing just led to another, I guess."

Iroh shook his head slowly.

"You had never… been interested in him before that moment?" he asked.

Katara's cheeks brightened, and she knew it would do no good to lie to the old man.

"I confess that earlier that same afternoon, I'd been pondering the type of life I might've lived if not for the war, and pondering notions of romance. I doubt you'd know but Aang is… interested. And I was thinking to myself about the type of boy I'd always imagined being with, one day. The type Gran Gran and the other women of my village told me I'd someday marry… There was talk before I left of marrying me to one of the young warriors in my Dad's fleet, when I was old enough. I'd seen him a few times when I was too young to notice things as a woman, but he was handsome, I suppose. Strong. Tall. Had a nice smile. And then I thought about the only other boys I'd been interested in before coming here and before Aang started to seem interested in a bit more than just friendship. Both were cut from the same cloth as the boy I'd been told I might marry one day. Tall. Strong. Nice smiles. Nice eyes. Witty."

She shook her head, thinking of Jet and Haru.

"One turned out to be a psycho who lost sight of the need to protect innocent people in his urge to rid the world of the Fire Nation that invaded his home and took away his family," she said quietly. "The other, I helped regain his family and take back his village before he could tread the same dark path – especially since it was my fault he was found out for being an Earthbender in the first place."

"The Earthbending prison ships we went to after rumours the Avatar had been there?" Iroh asked. "I believe that was where Zuko originally found your necklace before using it to have June and her shirshu track you down."

Katara nodded.

"Anyway. All the boys I'd shown an interest in so far were… well… nothing like Aang, anyway," she said. "I certainly never imagined myself with a man covered in blue arrow tattoos… and whilst thinking about the types of boys I  _had_  imagined myself with and wondering who else I knew who wasn't Jet, or Haru, or Nemantak, an image of Zuko flashed, briefly, in my head. And then I ran into him."

She shrugged her shoulders.

"You had been with others before my nephew?" Iroh asked quietly.

Katara shook her head.

"No. I mean, I kissed Jet, but I hadn't done anything else with any of them."

"But you did with Zuko?" Iroh confirmed. "And now you have returned. Why?"

Katara sighed, putting her chin in her hand as her cheeks turned pink. She couldn't look the old man in the eye.

"I don't know," she whispered. "Because… well, because I can't stop thinking about what we did, and I can't stop thinking about him having my mother's necklace, and I can't…"

She shook her head, fingering the strip of cloth he'd given her. The one she wasn't supposed to be wearing around her neck.

"Wearing that around your neck is considered a very great honour in the Fire Nation, Miss Katara," Iroh told her.

"I know," she said. "Zuko told me."

Iroh nodded, pouring her a fresh cup of tea when she drained her mug.

"So, you returned because you are confused," he said. "You are attracted to Zuko, and you don't know what to do about it?"

Katara nodded. "I suppose so," she said. "He… He told me about how he got his scar, the last time I was here. And I suppose it got me thinking, what with you both being here in the city, and  _knowing_  where to find Aang, and yet not doing anything to capture him… I suppose I started to think that Aang needs a Firebending teacher if he's going to take down Ozai during the invasion, and well, I've had firsthand experience with Zuko's ability to firebend, and I thought… maybe…"

She shook her head, sighing heavily once more.

"But I see now that perhaps it was a little too much to ask."

"No," Iroh said. "It wasn't."

He rose to his feet, tossing the remaining dregs of tea from the pot before collecting more water and more tealeaves to brew a fresh pot.

"I confess, I gave you that coupon for the teashop hoping you would return," Iroh told her. "It had been many years since I had seen Zuko laugh as he laughed the morning I interrupted the two of you, Miss Katara. It has been even longer since I have seen him thinking about anything other than how to please his father. But, in the time since we were declared traitors, and especially in the last two weeks, I have seen Zuko grow, and begin to look toward a different destiny. I know he will never be able to relinquish his yearning to reclaim his throne, but I'd begun to hope he might be considering alternative ways to do so, especially once he knew the Avatar was in the city, but did not act to capture him."

"You want him to join us, and to fight Ozai alongside us," Katara surmised, her eyes wide as she regarded the old general.

Iroh nodded.

"My brother is a wretched man, Miss Katara. Younger than me, it was never supposed to be he who was crowned Firelord. However, when my own son, Lu Ten, was killed, I no longer had a viable heir to follow me in the line of succession. Some very bad things took place to usurp my birthright and to keep me off the throne, and Ozai has done everything in his power to ensure that he has no threat to ever take it from him. He thinks that by banishing Zuko, and by warping him as he has to crave Ozai's approval, that Zuko will never seek to succeed him on the throne. He means to, eventually, give the throne to Azula – though probably not until he is a very old man on his deathbed. Zuko is too driven; too determined; too stubborn, to ever accept that he should wait until he is older than me before taking the throne while Ozai continues to pervert and abuse the position."

Iroh shook his head.

"The biggest reason my brother sought to remove Zuko from the Fire Nation – to banish him and make him think he is without honour – is because Zuko is so very honourable and, though you might find it hard to believe, so very kind-hearted. Under Zuko's reign, the Fire Nation would finally,  _finally_ , know an era of peace. He is angry and bitter and driven now, but before he was cast out, my nephew was kind. Burning to prove himself. Humble enough to know that unlike his sister, he is no prodigy to Firebending. He has worked – worked  _hard_  – to become as skilled as he is. Even as a boy, he worked hard to ensure he was skilled with weapons in addition to being a good Firebender. He was banished because he spoke out against the violence and bloodshed the Fire Nation capital thrives on. A boy of just thirteen, and willing to stand up and tell experienced and stubborn old men that sacrificing young boys was unacceptable? Of course, my brother threw him out. As he grew, Zuko would only have grown more defiant, more outspoken, and more aware of the horror my people have inflicted on the rest of the world."

Katara nodded slowly, looking in the direction of Zuko's bedroom and wondering if he was listening through the door. From the way Iroh shot her a wink, she suspected the old man hoped he would be.

"Do you think he will do it?" she asked, more than willing to play along. "I'm sure I could convince Sokka and Aang that he's changed, if he was willing to forget capturing Aang and instead wanted to focus on teaching Aang Firebending."

"I'm afraid that is up to him, Miss Katara," Iroh said, smiling. "My nephew can be very stubborn. Now, would you like me to show you how to make the moonpeach and sunberry sauce to go with this fire-chicken?"

Katara grinned.

"Yes," she admitted, getting to her feet once more and moving over beside the old man, letting him show her how it was done.

She heard cursing coming from Zuko's room before his bedroom door slid open and he stomped out of the apartment clutching a towel and some clean clothes.

"Do you think he was listening?" Katara asked when Zuko was gone.

"I hope so," Iroh chuckled. "I do have one more question for you, Miss Katara, and I did not want to ask it while Zuko might've been eavesdropping."

"Oh?" Katara asked, turning to him and smiling encouragingly when he hesitated like he didn't think he should ask.

"That token around your neck, as Zuko has told you, signifies that you are of such high importance to the Fire Nation that you have been made bride to a member of the royal family," Iroh said. "To any from the Fire Nation who saw that, you are currently garbed as though you were Zuko's wife…."

Katara nodded, Zuko having already told her that.

"My question is… Would you ever consent to truly accepting the title? Would you ever be willing to marry Prince Zuko?"

Katara's eyes widened in surprise at the directness of the question.

"Please know that I do not ask to be nosy, and I do know that the two of you have had limited and hostile interactions up until now, I was merely curious, as it would go a very long way to secure an era of peace should the rightful Fire Lord, when he takes his throne, be seen to be on good terms with the other nations. I understand that you are Chief Hakoda's daughter, making you the Water Tribe equivalent of a princess. As such, it would be well-met from a political standpoint if you and Zuko were to marry."

"I…." Katara floundered, unsure how to answer him. She'd never considered the notion of taking things so far as to one day be Zuko's  _wife_.

Iroh smiled gently.

"As I said, I know you are young and confused about your feelings for Zuko, as I am sure he is confused about his feelings for you. I merely wondered if you might ever consider it?"

Katara blinked, gulping audibly.

"I never… I mean… I suppose I… Yes," she landed on, her thoughts racing.

Iroh looked surprised his face morphing into a curious expression as her regarded her.

"Yes, I'd consider it," Katara said strongly, her mind made up. "If we prove amenable, and we both survive the war, and he asks, I would consider it very seriously."

Iroh smiled widely, looking as though that was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Not just because he is a Prince, I hope?" Iroh asked.

Katara thought about being insulted before she laughed.

"General, I'm best friends with the Avatar," she reminded him. "And I know  _he_  is interested in me. I've also spent almost a year travelling the world and being given anything and everything we could need or want because of who Aang is. And yet here I am, spending the money they gave me and escaping the finery of the house they provided for us, instead seeking out the company of those in the lower ring whose lives have been uprooted by war. When I was chased by those thugs Zuko saved me from, I'd spent the entire day down here, healing people and trying to help those less fortunate than me because in my village, even as the daughter of the Chief, I learned what it was to be hungry. I know what it is like to go days without food when the weather is too dangerous, and the hunting is poor, and the world is frozen, making fishing impossible. If I were to ever consider marrying Zuko it would not be for finery, or money, or the political power the marriage would grant me. It would be entirely because of Zuko. If I were to marry him, it would be a result of falling in love with him so deeply that I would not be able to bear living without him."

General Iroh of the Fire Nation beamed, looking pleased by her answer and Katara returned the smile.

They cooked in companionable silence after that, finishing the final preparations for the meal and beginning to serve it just in time for Zuko to return. His hair was still wet, hanging in his eyes and obscuring his scar a little, and from the rigid way he held his shoulders, Katara doubted that bathing had helped to improve his mood.

"Ah, Prince Zuko, just in time for supper," Iroh exclaimed as Katara helped him carry everything over to the table and they both sat around it.

Zuko curled his lip but his hunger got the better of him, as was evident when he threw his clothes on the floor in his bedroom and joined them at the table.

He didn't speak as they all began to serve themselves, not bothering to say thank you to her for cooking and not bothering to ask what she was still doing there. Katara rolled her eyes to herself before taking a bite of the Fire Nation dish Iroh had requested.

A little groan slipped from between her lips, her eyes closing at the decadent and sweet flavor of the chicken. She'd never tasted anything so spicy and sweet at the same time. It was delicious! When she opened her eyes, intent on taking another bite, Katara's cheeks flushed pink to find that Zuko's eyes were fixed on her in a manner that made her think he'd very much enjoy taking all of his problems out on her in the most carnal of ways. Her body thrummed at the thought and Katara suspected she had a problem.

"Thank you for cooking dinner, Miss Katara," Iroh said politely after a few minutes of tense silence had passed between her and Zuko. "You are very kind to spend you coins and you time on us."

Katara smiled at the old man, wondering how it could be that this man had once been a fierce war General who had almost conquered the very city they dined in when he had such fine manners and such a pleasant nature.

"You are very welcome, General," Katara smiled at him. "Thank  _you_ , for teaching me how cook something so delicious. Did I get the flavours right by Fire Nation standards?"

"Yes," Iroh smiled.

"No," Zuko said at the same time, still sounding surly.

Katara looked over at him before looking in askance at Iroh. The General shot Zuko an annoyed looked.

"I believe it is the quality of the fire-chicken here in the Earth Kingdom that is responsible for the slight variation in flavor to what we are used to in the Fire Nation," he told her kind. "The meat is not quiet as spicy as we are used to."

"Oh," Katatra frowned. "Would extra fire-flakes help?"

"No," Iroh chuckled. "No, the flavor of the fire in the meat is not spicy in the same way that the flakes are. It is more like tasting the fire that once ran through the veins of the bird in the meat. It is hard to explain."

"Maybe it wasn't real fire-chicken," Zuko sneered quietly.

"They told me at the stall that it was," Katara frowned. "But I've never seen one, alive or butchered, so I wouldn't actually know the difference."

"It  _is_  Fire Chicken," Iroh shook his head. "Just a different species, or perhaps just fed a different diet here in the Earth Kingdom compared to the Fire Nation. We actually feed the birds fire-flakes in the Fire Nation."

Katara nodded, supposing that there was little to be done about it now.

"Did you try the sea prunes?" she asked of Iroh, knowing Zuko hadn't touched them.

"Oh!" Iroh said. "No. I forgot that there was more food to be sampled."

He reached for the stewed sea prunes, serving a small amount into his bowl.

"They're not for everyone," Katara warned him. "Aang can't stand them."

Iroh smiled before spooning some of the stew into his mouth. Katara could tell in a heartbeat that they weren't what he'd expected, and she laughed just a little.

"They are icy!" he exclaimed. "The outside is hot, and the stew is tasty, but the prunes themselves are ice-cold in the middle."

Katara nodded. "They grow along the ocean floor deep beneath the ice in the South Pole, though I've heard that other species of them grow in different parts of the ocean."

"Peculiar," Iroh said, and Katara was intrigued when the old man went back for more, forgetting his manners so much as to pluck one of the prunes from his bowl and bite it in two so that he could examine the center. "Amazing! Zuko, you must try them. They have the most unique flavor."

"They look like the way I imagine it might taste if we stewed your sandals, Uncle," Zuko said unkindly, though he did as he was told and dipped his spoon into the pot, scooping up some of the stew along with a prune.

He eyed it like he thought it would come alive, his nose wrinkled with disgust before he opened his mouth and deposited the spoonful onto his tongue. His eyes narrowed at the flavor of the soup and Katara heard the audible crack when he bit into the prune, cracking it open.

"Oooh, an extra icy one," she chuckled. "Usually you can't hear them crack."

Zuko looked rather like he feared he'd cracked a tooth, and like he didn't want to be rude and spit out the mouthful of food, but couldn't stand to swallow it either. Iroh began to laugh at the young Firebender and Katara shook her head.

"You can spit it out if you want to," she told him. "They're not for everyone."

Zuko gulped loudly, looking like he'd just been forced-fed vomit.

"They're disgusting," he informed her. "The stew they come in doesn't taste that bad, but those prunes taste like boiled hunks of leather wrapped around an ice-cube."

Katara laughed, not insulted in the slightest.

"I suppose they do, a little," she nodded. "Usually, when cooking them at home, I would let them stew for at least three days. They soak up the flavour of the stew when I do that, and taste a little less pruney."

Zuko looked rather like he doubted it, but Katara didn't bother trying to explain. Stewed Sea Prunes weren't for everyone. She knew Aang wasn't fond of them, either. The conversation at least helped to clear some of the tension after their earlier fight and Katara snuck glances at Iroh throughout the rest of the meal as he regaled them with tales of the many varied cuisines he'd tried whilst travelling the globe hunting the Avatar alongside Zuko. She could tell he was trying to lighten the mood and trying to make Zuko feel better after dropping so many uncomfortable truths on him.

"Well, that was delicious," Iroh exclaimed a while later when they'd finally eaten their fill. "I suppose we'd better set about tidying up."

"Oh, I'll do it," Katara said. "Washing dishes is child's play when you're a water bender."

Iroh looked intrigued, helping her carry their plates over to the bucket in the corner while Katara bent the water from a barrel outside into it. She almost jumped when Zuko stuck his hand in there and heated it rapidly until it was steaming and almost boiling. Katara smiled appreciatively before she began to bend the water over the plates with all the intensity of a turbulent sea. In a matter of minutes the plates were blasted clean and dried as she pulled them out and handed them to Zuko, who neatly stacked them away.

"Well, that's certainly a fine trick," Iroh complimented. "I don't suppose you might be available every night to help out with cooking and cleaning, Miss Katara?"

Katara laughed. "I think my friends might notice if I go missing every night – if only because then they'd have to feed themselves and they get stroppy when the realize they're all rubbish cooks."

Iroh laughed, and Zuko looked rather like he thought her friends were useless.

"Well, at least they value as a member of their team," Iroh chuckled before a wide yawn escaped him. "Excuse me, Miss Katara. It seems I am worn out this evening. Would you be terribly put out if I turned in for the night?"

Katara smiled. "Not at all, General. I hope you feel better in the morning, and thank you for teaching me to make so many exciting Fire Nation dishes."

"It was my pleasure, Miss Katara," Iroh assured her. "Nephew, can I count on you to ensure Miss Katara will be safe this evening?"

Katara almost giggled at the way Zuko glared before emitting a long-suffering sigh.

"I'll walk her back through the gates and up to the Upper Ring, myself," he said.

"The gates will be closed, by now, surely?" Iroh said and Katara could see the mischief glinting in his amber eyes.

She suspected he very much wanted to see something come of her and Zuko's interaction, beyond the evening they'd shared together.

"The gates don't close until ten o'clock this evening," Zuko argued.

Iroh's eyes twinkled. "So they do," he nodded. "Be sure to remember that we're on the early shift tomorrow, Prince Zuko. It might be a long run home early in the morning when the gates open if you should get yourself caught in the Upper Ring this evening."

Katara almost laughed when Zuko look affronted by the very suggestion.

"Goodnight, Miss Katara," Iroh bade her. "Goodnight, Prince Zuko."

"Sleep well, General," Katara said.

"Goodnight, Uncle," Zuko replied, though he still looked to be in a bad mood.

Katara watched as Iroh shuffled off in the direction of the small partition that hid his sleeping platform from view, disappearing behind it before he climbed into his bed. When he was gone, the partition slid closed, she turned her eyes to the prince she'd come to see, wondering if he was still angry enough to hurt her, or if he might be amenable to more exciting uses of their time.


End file.
